Looking for Good Freight Broker??

The transportation industry is highly fragmented. There are thousands of trucking companies, freight brokers, and freight forwarders. Some are large logistics companies with many different services such as 3pl, heavy haul shipping, van shipping and warehousing. Most companies though are small businesses who specialize in one or two services.

Logistics companies tend to be either “asset based” or “non asset based”. Asset based carriers own their own tractors, trailers, warehouses, or other equipment. Non Asset based typically are freight brokers and freight forwarders. There are advantages and disadvantages to working with both.

Asset based carriers come big and small. Most small carriers align themselves with larger carriers to feed them business. This relationship works out well for both companies, as the larger carriers can fill gaps in their capacity and the smaller carriers don't need to spend as much effort finding freight. Smaller carriers tend to specialize in certain geographies, or certain types of equipment such as rgn's which are capable of heavy equipment hauling.

Larger asset based carriers tend to cater to larger businesses whose needs demand quite a bit of capacity and dedicated equipment. Smaller carriers are better fits for smaller businesses with less frequent or more irregular scheduling needs.

Large non asset based logistics companies prefer working with larger businesses as it is more cost effective to have fewer staff selling to fewer companies with larger needs. Smaller non asset based logistics companies are more able meet the needs of smaller businesses who may have fewer transportation service requirements.

Matching freight that needs to be shipped with trucks that are available at the right time in the right place is sometimes very challenging. The laws of supply and demand come into play when trying to ship truckload freight. As a result freight quotes and freight costs can swing wildly at times.

The cost of freight shipping is determined by supply and demand, fuel costs, seasonality among other factors. One week your truckload shipping might cost $1,000. The next week it might cost $1,500. This can be caused by a single company who may have completed a large production run creating great demand for trucks in a certain location. Alternatively, freight rates can drop dramatically if there is a lack of freight in a certain location.

A good freight broker like RM Logistics can help smaller businesses match their freight needs with market conditions.