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H.R. 5934, The TRUCC Act
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Visitor Comments
Steven
It gives the driver leverage to hold brokers accountable for lying. Period! Let me share with all of you that I was a Funeral Director and in the profession for 20 yrs., but OTR trucking is the most persevering job I've ever had. BROKERS who laugh about this issue, aren't away from their families and are not giving up their LIFE like most truck drivers.; Yes I do enjoy it, but I'm not 'enjoying the countryside' like the recruiting-for-dummies would bait you with. I'm all BUSINESS. Actually, the FTC has dropped the ball on this one, because a funeral establishment can be fined up to $50,000 for violations relating to disclosure. This is a HUGE, yet ONLY the beginning steps truckers ARE taking. Bokerage is appreciated, but it is time the tail stopped wagging the dog.
Charles
Wait a second. Trucking is part of the free enterprise capitalism that makes this country great. Each and every driver can decide for themselves to accept a rate or not, or to negotiate for more. The truckers are not at the mercy of brokers, they can say no and go find their own load if they choose to do so. This bill speaks to more than that though, it also includes transparency into the margins that a broker is earning. For what is the question. I can not walk into the sporting goods store and demand to know how much they made on selling me that pair of N*ke running shoes...that borders on sharing the wealth and communism. The best brokers know to keep their clients freight moving they have to keep their drivers happy. No trucker out there would believe the number of loads that brokers lose money on just to get the load moved and their client happy.
trucker
Charles I am not sure What it is that you are hiding or even why you keep at it if you are losing money, but it sounds like you must be making a nice profit on some loads by maybe claiming there is no fuel surcharge to pass on.
Charles
I keep at it because I know that the market will turn and those loads that I lost money, I'll be able to go back to the shipper and say...I NEED MORE MONEY. I need more money to pay the truck and I need more money for me. See I have sales adminstrative costs that I incur to get the freight, bill it and catalog it. When I give my load to a truck he has NONE of those costs. Of course the trucks have full opportunity to get out there and PAY for their own marketing and selling, get freight and bill it.
I'll say it again, no truck is at the mercy of a broker. Say no to the rate, or figure out what profit YOU want to make over and above what it will cost in fuel...then accept nothing less.
Trucker 2
Brokers on east coast, or coastal areas intentinally under quote as a group effort to force truckers to take the load or just sit. Then it becomes impossible for the trucker to find a fair rate of pay on a load. the trucker has to work for free,only gettin enough pay for the fuel, and in some cases has to pay out of pocket to get out of an eastcoast region to go inland for better rates. and the brokers on the east and or coastal areas know this as a whole. they are infairly, putting truckers out of business. one broker i talkd to in n.j. told me they do it cause they can. some poor sap allways ends up taking the load out of desparation. its unethical. truckers have no choice when loads arent paying fairly.!! brokers need a rude awakening. thankyou for this bill, ive a family and mortgage to pay for too.
Smitty
Wow, I hear you Trucker 2, I just can't believe it. Not saying this to be rude but I had no idea you guys thought the we brokers are in cahoots. I love my drivers, but hate other brokers, I'm in competition with other brokers. If you truly are having this problem, I would say make sure you know the broker before you take a load. There are 17,000 brokers, call one of us bigger firms, we have more freight and more clients. In other words it's easier for us to still operate on MUCH lower margins than broker bob out of his basement who needs to make huge profits becuase he can only book a couple of loads a week.
Steve
It is not the brokers driving down the cost of transportation on moves off the east coast. This is simply a function of supply and demand. This is not something new. Brokers can post a load coming off the East coast and in 5 minutes have 10 trucks for that load. If you choose the go to the East coast you need to be sure you make your money when you go in. Right now there is simply more capacity in the market place in general then freight because of the slow economy. We all know this will change. Carriers are reducing fleet sizes and the economy will rebound. This is when you will see third parties and brokers scrambling. Good third parties and brokers recognize this fact and will treat you fairly now so that when they need you they will have the capacity they require. The Goal at my company is to ensure efficient capacity in any market. That means making sure our carriers are and remain healthly through any market.
We're gonna do things they say can't be done.
I first of all have a comment for Charles. It is the brokers because your stealing money from your help. The fuel surcharges changes week to week. It is not fair that we have to pay for the fuel and you get half the money, you said you have sales fees and all of that well if you dont want to pay the o/o the fuel surcharge then buy your own trucks and pay for fuel,repairs, drivers, and everything else. It is down right dirty that you people take the fuel surcharge when someone else is actually buying the fuel its called THEFT.
On D Move
This bill will help alot, but all this is going to do is make brokers lower the price of the load.
Wrong
This bill is unAmerican, I'm surprised that such a patriotic group as drivers are for the government mandating how a free market can be run.
showtrucker@yahoo.com
First off to everybody how is it fair for two carriers to keep over half of the revenue ? The "brokering carrier" kept 25% and the carrier i was leased to kept 25%... There is something wrong it's called greed simple greed... What is a 1 truck independent going to do against a company ? ooida forget them they don't care unless they can make a lot of money off the deal.. Brokers are like lawyers... Show me a honest ethical one and i will be truly amazed..
Wrong
What is this grade school? Fair and level playing field is all BS. This is AMERICA everyone has the same chance. Find out how other people are making money and go do the same. This is just like all the hated about Wal-mart pushing out the little guys. Guess what everyone had the same choice as Sam Walton did, he chose to expand his store into and empire. YOu can take a chance and expand your own company to. But did sit and argue that you don't want to take risks and chances, you want to make as much as the risk takers without taking the risks. That is BS, quit asking for government involvment and learn how to run your own business. Who do you call when your in trouble a lawyer, who do you call when your stuck and need a load...a broker.
5mouth2feed
I find it interesting that brokers would have a problem with a bill that mandates they be honest about the FSC that belongs to the carrier. If you are oppossed then
you must be hiding something. As to those who have stated "this bill is un-American" or "level playing field is BS" again someone is showing thier hand at their
unscrupulous activities. This bill is about an FSC that belongs to the person actually paying at the pump for fuel. It is a fuel surcharge PERIOD. The purpose is
to pay for fuel not marketing, advertising, emplotee cost....... FUEL and ONLY Fuel.
5mouths2feed
Brokers wages should come from the frieght rate and only the frieght rate. If a driver is too dumb to calculate his CPM and know exactly what he can haul a load for
then yes he has no business in this business. However he should not have to concern himself with the cost of fuel that has been paid for by the shipper. Capitalism and Umerika have nothing to do with the fact that if anyone other that the person paying for fuel is taking a piece of the FSC that is plain and simple THEFT not capitalism.
Wrong
You still don't get it.
1. There is no FSC. There is a flat rate between broker and shipper. The broker owns the load at that point. THERE IS NO FSC!!! There is nothing to steal, nothing to keep.
What ever has transpired between Broker and Shipper is completely seperate between Broker and Trucker. The shipper works with the broker and they have a budget and freight allowances. They are not saying, oh wait pay this extra FSC to the truck. Get real, it doesn't happen. There is no theft. Don't believe me ? Call a good broker and ask him how he goes about getting freight in the first place. Call a bad broker and let him tell you stories on how his client will pay a 17% FSC on top of rate...it's BS and they are hurting us all. The truth is it just doesn't happen
Jeff
It is a HUGE misconception that brokers controll the market. Supply and demand, as Steve said, is the driving force. Also, I broker roughly 30 loads a week, and at least 1/2 of them are negotiated "flat rates", where fuel sur charge isn't even discussed. As far as east coast rates go, the poor market for trucks up there is offset by the fact that I'm paying $2.50 - $3.00pr mile from CA, the south east, and the midwest to get trucks to go there. We are used by our customers as a tool for qualifying hiring, dispaching and tracking carriers. In many cases, the rate is determined by us finding a truck and negotiating the rate w/ them FIRST, then adding our profit and quoting the customer. My best friend in this business is LOOSING HIS A@@@@ right now because the customer he contacted rates w/ is not allowing him any room for adjustment with regards to fuel. Why in the world anyone thinks we have that much power is beyond me.
John
All of the drivers that are whining are the same guys that don’t know how to balance a checkbook. You need to understand that you are running a business, not just driving a truck. If you don’t get with the program and learn what your operating costs are then you will never succeed. Government intervention is never the answer; it is just one more step towards poverty for all.
Steve
This bill is not just about fuel surcharge it is about complete transparency of broker’s margins and invoices. I beg you to name any other vendor or customer who discloses their profit margins. Do you know the profit margins of your fuel vendors or emergency road service vendors? Do you disclose your margins to your customers?????? This bill is about a whole lot more than FSC it is about complete disclosure of brokers invoices to its clients to the carriers it hires. This against erodes any sense of free market. If this bill passes you will see even greater consolidation in the truckload sector and the smaller independent guys will be squeezed out similar to what has happened in the LTL industry. I fear we are playing right into the hands of big companies like the YRC Corporation's, and Conway’s, FedEx's, and UPS's of the world. If this were just about fuel I would support it but the fact of the matter it is not.
John
I am sick and tired of people running to the government for help when they have the ability to take care of themselves. Running to the government is just like running to your mommy, stop being a man-child, grow up and figure out a way to deal with your problems on your own!
If you run to the government for help on every issue we will slowly lose everything and America will become a Socialist country, believe me this is not what you want.
Robert
If carriers don't want to work with brokers they don't have too. They can open their own sales office and go to businesses and solicite the freight themselves. We are a business, just like any other. If you don't want the load from a broker don't take it. If you want to get the freight yourself please, by all means do so. There is plenty out there.
Bill
Truck Drivers: You are shooting yourselves in the foot. Freight is a free market. Rates are driven by the market, not by brokers. Brokers make the market more efficient. Access to more loads allows you to lower your empty miles and increase asset utilization. Brokers can't control supply and demand. Brokers have a vested interest in the health of the whole industry. This bill will drain profits for EVERYONE in the industry. This is not rocket science, it's basic first year economics.