32 |
Overdrive
| October 2014
RIDING THE SPOT MARKET BOOM
doing so. Boblett recent-
ly launched a "Brokers &
Beyond" podcast with Kevin
Rutherford's AudioRoad Net-
work on BlogTalkRadio.com
to encourage discussions with
a featured broker guest.
The first edition of the
show ran in September,
adding to a stable of shows
that also includes the "Rates
and Lanes" podcast, focused
on supply and demand trends
across the nation. Indepen-
dents will excel if they're
willing to travel where there's
demand, Boblett says.
Boblett occasionally cohosts
"Rates and Lanes" with
owner-operator Rico Mu-
hammad, who calls Boblett's
technique "running wild."
Muhammad, instead, special-
izes mostly in the Southeast
with a mind toward securing
direct customers.
Boblett's approach is akin
to classic irregular-route
long-haul, using brokers.
Using load data primarily
from a subscription to DAT's
TruckersEdge.net load board,
ahead of his arrival in any
area, he researches incoming/
outgoing load ratios to get a
bead on the competition. Sig-
nificantly more loads incom-
ing than outgoing mean your
position in any negotiation
could be weak.
However, look one state
over, and things could be
somewhat different. Boblett
might plan to deadhead from
a dropoff in a lousy area to an
area where he will have high-
er negotiating power. Ideally
he builds enough cushion into
the rate incoming to make it
worthwhile beforehand.
From a rate-negotiation
standpoint, says Mon-
Text
INFO
to
205-289-3555
or
visit
www.ovdinfo.com
"
There's enough freight to go
around, and the load board portion
of that has really picked up.
"
— Thayne Boren, Internet Truckstop vice president of sales
