Ever wonder why your loads aren’t moving? Are they just sitting on the load board or stuck in an email inbox?
Carriers won’t haul just anything, and without a feedback loop, you don’t always know why. When a carrier views a load, they are looking for signs of a good business deal and that they are being paid respectfully. And without the proper elements advertising to car hauling businesses, your load could sit for months. We put together the following list to help you get your loads moved.
Price
You probably could have guessed it – price is #1, but not just for the obvious reasons. Price is a driving factor for any carrier to ensure they are getting paid fairly for their work, but also, price plays a part in the rest of this list to getting your loads moved faster.
Whether you are brokering a load or you are trying to book with a carrier directly, you can not lowball your prices. Do you know what a good price is for your route? Are you offering $300 for a 600 mile load down the east coast? A good carrier knows what it costs to run his truck per-mile and if you don’t know what that number is for your area or niche, your load will stay put. Also, always keep in mind that when fuel prices go up, so will cost per mile.
Whether you are brokering a load or you are trying to book with a carrier directly, you can not lowball your prices.
Do research on the kinds of loads you need moved, and ensure that industry standards for price are being met. Pay carriers fairly and they will be incentivized to move those loads.
Distance and Placement
Throughout the country, there are several hotspots that are ideal for car haulers. This means that a carrier can be on the road in a hotspot city like Atlanta or Dallas and not worry about securing freight ahead of time due to the amount of cars needing car hauling services in these areas. So, when you need a load moved somewhere like in North Dakota, it is just not going to get as much attention as one near Memphis. Also, something to keep in mind is that back country highways are also harder to get to than interstates. This can dictate whether or not a carrier takes a load.
…back country highways are also harder to get to than interstates, which can dictate whether or not a carrier takes your load.
If the pickup or delivery location is just south/north of a mid-sized city, a carrier will be factoring in deadhead miles when evaluating the load price. Deadhead miles are the amount of miles they will be running Less Than Loaded or completely empty, to get to the pick-up or delivery. Those miles cost just as much as fully loaded miles – if not more. To help carriers feel better supported, don’t downplay it. Is your load 50 miles outside of a city and possibly in the wrong direction? Or is your load far outside of a hotspot city? That requires more money to haul, and thus needs a better price per mile to account for the expense of the carrier.
Specs
Price loads according to what kind of hauls you are looking for. For example, door to door delivery is going to cost more, as will inoperable vehicles, due to the extra wait time and equipment required at pick up and delivery. However, long hauls cost less as they are mostly highway miles which reduces maintenance. And a full load means the carrier isn’t having to run around trying to fill their trailer.
Price loads according to what kind of hauls you are looking for.
Inoperable vehicles tend to be the worst for this. Some car hauling companies actually refuse to load inoperable vehicles because they are either difficult, time-consuming, or they don’t have the necessary equipment. However, some carriers specialize in inoperable cars. Don’t try to hide the fact that your load is inoperable. If a carrier gets to the pickup and realizes they need a forklift to get it onto their truck (yes, this does happen) you might end up not getting your car moved at all. The way to get it moved is to provide the equipment, up the price, or specify the equipment needed.
Too Much Info is Good Info
Where is this load coming and going? Carriers that use load boards actually want to know a lot about the load – some carriers can do door to door and others can’t. Some cities allow easy access for car hauling trailers, and some don’t. Carriers know these roads better than anyone – the more information you give them in a load, the better. Your load will get moved, you just need to give the right people the correct knowledge to claim it.
Contact
Put all of your contact information. Make it easy for interested carriers to get in touch with you. Include a phone number, an email, your company name, and a point of contact. Are you afraid of too many calls or potential email harassment? While this probably won’t happen, you can always try to route through Google Voice or use a specific company phone. You are not just vetting carriers – carriers are vetting you.
Make it easy for interested carriers to get in touch with you.
If a carrier emailed you, but there was no identifiable information about them or their company, would you let them pick up your load? Don’t expect a carrier to just trust you right off the bat without the appropriate amount of information. Let them know you’re a trusted broker or shipper and this will also give you the opportunity to know that they are a trusted carrier.
At the end of the day, we’re all on the same team on the same mission. We want loads to get moved quickly and securely while making a living. With the above list, you’ll be able to better vet reliable carriers while ensuring your loads don’t sit for long.
Want to learn more about how you can get your loads moved faster? Request a demo of our Shipper TMS to start moving cars faster!
