Overdrive

40 | Overdrive | July 2017 N ot only have the internet and mobile technology made finding loads quicker and easier than ever, those same resources also can provide more in-depth current information on broker performance. Most load services require a subscrip- tion, ranging from around $35 to $150 per month. Load board leaders DAT and Truckstop.com track their customers' experience, so they can provide detailed statistics on how those loads worked out, such as brokers' average days to pay and more. The DAT Load Board and Truckstop Mobile apps are customized to make viewing broker and load infor- mation easy on mobile devices. DAT's TruckersEdge (www.truck- ersedge.net) load board has a free pack- age, but it only allows drivers to post their trucks – they cannot view broker information or access other features. DAT's TruckersEdge Enhanced ($49.95 per month) and DAT Express ($99 per month) include access to broker credit information. Truckstop.com has pack- ages at $35, $125 and $150 per month, but only the top two tiers include access to broker information. Certain services not affiliated with load boards, such as RTS Credit Service, also provide credit reports on brokers that include days to pay, broker author- ity, bond information and more. Then there are more specialized sources. For example, Red Book Credit Services and Blue Book Services provide transportation-related credit rating infor- mation for the fresh produce industry. The National Association of Small Trucking Companies' Best Broker pro- gram is made up of what the association considers to be the top 5 percent of brokers, based on payment history and member recommendations. Carriers Broker INVESTING IN RELATIONSHIPS PAYS OFF One of the best preparations for a down- turn is having good broker relationships. "I tell my drivers that the brokers are my customers," says Merrill Heim, owner of seven-truck fl eet Alumni Logis- tics. "Even though it's brokered freight, it's repeat business, and it becomes a relationship." The principle is easy to ignore in good times, says independent Chad Boblett. "Up through 2014, it really didn't matter who you were – you could get $3 a mile," he says. "But in the middle of 2015-2016, if you didn't have a relation- ship [with brokers], you weren't making money and were doing a lot of sitting." Boblett sometimes gets a call about a load before it ever gets posted because of his longstanding broker relationship. "At the same time, if I need a load, I can call one of these brokers and see if I can get the same load I've had before," he says. "I've been getting more freight from brokers, so that's how I'll continue to do things." Broker Broker ratings Check out history reports before accepting a load from a new source BY MATT COLE Independent Chad Boblett says checking a broker's reviews helps him determine if apparent problems are deal-breakers or things he can work around.

• Cover
• COVER STORY: Jump start The electrified truck concept has taken on a real life, with players large and small vying for future shares of the Class 8 market. It’s not only large fleets that are placing orders.
• Presenting logs at roadside Running with an e-logs device is one thing. Communicating e-log data to an inspector is quite another. With five months to go, states’ data transfer plans vary widely, and an ambitious federal program remains untested.
• Broker ratings Not only have the internet and mobile technology made finding loads quicker and easier than ever, those same resources also can provide more in-depth, current information on broker performance.
• Drive Test: Best of both worlds Volvo’s regional workhorse tractor, the VNM, having been on the market for more than two decades, was overdue for a refresh. But Volvo designers did much more than modernize its body lines in producing th
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• Another reason shippers should deal direct.
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• Trucker Talent Search finalists headed for Dallas.
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• Reader Rigs: ’13 T800 a stainless dream; ’90 K100 a farming COE; salute “The General” ’17 W900L Icon; ’96 W900L pretty in pink; respect “Big Tex” ’15 122SD; ’02 W900L goes by “Black Betty.”
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