Getting good motor freight rates?

[Perry Holbrook]

How do you get a good freight rate when you need to have something shipped?

I just had some local freight companies quote a possible shipment and was surprised at how high they were when compared to what I pay when I buy a new machine. (I even got free shipping late week on one shipment.) So there must be a secret, seems like the quotes I'm getting are "retail" and I want to get "wholesale" rates.

Anyone got the answer?

Thanks, Perry

[Mike DeHart]

At work we get about a 65% discount (or so) from the full rates. Do you know a business that ships a lot by truck? They could help you out.

Mike

[greg bliss]

Contract with them to ship a lot of freight on a regular basis. That's how grizzly, steel city and others get a discount, with mass volume. And with fuel where it is even thier prices will most likely go up.

[Peter Quinn]

Its kind of like being a member of an HMO vrs not being a member. Those who ship volume contract and negotiate for better rates than you as an individual are likely to achieve. If you also consider that a company shipping large volumes can put more items on a truck at a single stop than an individual the price gap makes rational economic sense beyond the negociated rates as well.

If a customer wants me to make a single item for which special forms or jigs are required, they pay the cost of those items as part of that single unit. If they want multiples of the said item the cost is divided and the per item price decreases. Same idea explains part of the price difference.

I have had the best luck with ABF, and you may achieve a better rate if you can deliver the item to a freight terminal rather than arrange local pick up if this is possible.

Good luck.

[Reed Wells]

Perry, I have about two freight shipments a week and I also get a 65% rate. Now that said, 65% is relative to what ever they tell you it is. I won't tell you who you could go through, but I will tell you, if you PM me, who not to go through. Some trucking companies should only carry steel or pig iron, because thats the way they handle any container with a CAUTION FRAGILE !! lable on it. OK rant over, sorry. If you want the name of a couple good firms in your area let me know. Reed

[Greg Funk]

Try freightquote.com. There is usually a large variation between the quotes of various trucking companies depending on your location.

Greg

[Rob Mathis]

I agree with greg!

You will need to shop around!
The reason pricing varies is because some of the loads are picked up as a back haul. Meaning the 1st haul paid to go and come back and they are making extra on the haul back home.

[David Freed]

I agree with greg!

You will need to shop around!
The reason pricing varies is because some of the loads are picked up as a back haul. Meaning the 1st haul paid to go and come back and they are making extra on the haul back home.

I own and drive a semi. The 1st haul DOES NOT pay to go out and back. The ones that haul cheap on a backhaul, are the ones that are going out of business now because they weren't charging enough before fuel prices went up. I have been driving for 27 years, 17 years with my own truck. When things are going good these idiots start cutting rates to the bone, barely making any money, just to get more loads. When things get tough they can't afford to stay in business anymore. There are very few people in trucks that you can call truck drivers anymore. Most of them shouldn't even be driving a car. Sorry for the rant, but they make it hard for the rest of us to stay in business.

I don't look for the cheapest company to haul because I want to TRY to get someone that knows what they are doing. I will not use places like freightquote.com because you will get what you pay for.

[Steven DeMars]

Sometimes you can ship via the bus companies if it's just bulky. . . . .

[Don Bullock]

Before UPS bought them out, I used to get good rates from the Mailboxes, Etc. place. The manager of the local "store" would get quotes from shippers for me. He got better rates than I could because he shipped items with the shippers fairly frequently. Perhaps you have a similar, independent shipping place, locally that can check rates for you.

[Perry Holbrook]

Thanks for the input. I'll check out a few of the ideas.

Perry

[Neville Stewart]

I have a friend that ships flat pack bunk beds & he figured out how to use Bekins ( yes the moving company )as they might possibly be sending a truck back light or empty , he got very good rates from them to deliver all over the US.

[Jack Vines]

Greetings, creekers,

Everyone is entitled to an opinion. JMHO, but freightquote.com has been the best thing which ever happened to the average guy who has to ship big old arn only once in a while. In the past, I couldn't even find local freight companies who could get a pallet across country at a reasonable price. Now, with freightquote.com, I go online, get a firm quote with the option for local freight dock delivery, business with a forklift or home delivery with a lift gate. freightquote.com has made my small business life much easier. Try 'em; you might like 'em.

thnx, jack vines

[Tom Walz]

We use unishippers and are very happy with both the service and the savings