A weekend “May Day” rally in Washington by small-business truckers claiming they are being mistreated in the freight market during the coronavirus pandemic ended with a positive message from President Donald Trump.
Trump, who spent the weekend at the president’s retreat in Camp David, Maryland, acknowledged the demonstrators parked in their trucks directly south of the White House along Constitution Avenue.
“Thanks for the meeting at the White House with my representatives from the Administration,” Trump tweeted late Sunday. “It is all going to work out well!”
Demonstration organizers are hoping that an initial meeting with administration representatives over the weekend will lead to a face-to-face meeting with the president.
“Having a White House liaison come out and meet is more progress than being on the 5 o’clock news doing a slow roll,” Rick Santiago, one of the demonstration’s organizers, told FreightWaves. “I don’t expect solutions tomorrow, but we cannot haul one more week with rates the way they are.”
Santiago and others at the rally laid much of the blame for what they consider inequitable rates at the feet of truck brokers that pressure rates downward by canceling agreed-upon loads after finding another carrier willing to haul it cheaper — or by outright lying to truckers.
“I’m hoping that what we’ve done so far — asking the [Department of Justice] to step in and investigate some of these broker scams — is going to have a butterfly effect” that results in brokers having to increase their rates through tighter regulations, Santiago said.
While the Trump administration has attempted to provide relief to small-business owners through billions of dollars distributed through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Santiago said he knew of no truckers at the rally who had received stimulus money.
“We’re not looking for a bailout. Give us a hand up and let us get back to work. If our operating cost is $2 a mile, I can’t haul for 90 cents.”
Credit: John Gallagher/FreightWaves
Darrell Muller, an owner-operator who recently moved a forklift from Las Vegas to Kansas on his flatbed truck for a less than breakeven rate of $900, found out after the delivery that the shipper had been charged $2,000. “Not all brokers lie, but this is why none of us trust them,” Muller told FreightWaves.
Records compiled quarterly by the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), which represents brokers, indicate that third-party logistics companies keep 16% gross margin for their service while passing on 84% to the carrier.
Responding to charges of price gouging, “No one’s making money on this pandemic but the beer and drug industry,” TIA President and CEO Robert Voltmann told FreightWaves.
“The smaller companies can’t collude to affect the marketplace. The problem is, the market is so competitive and so transparent that when somebody is desperate and takes a load for 50 cents, everyone else knows that. There are motor carriers that should be parking their trucks and applying for PPP loans, and we can help them with that. But there’s just not that much freight out there, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
Voltmann added that his members can’t exist without independent truckers and they can’t exist without his members. “It’s definitely a love-hate relationship. No American family and no American business should go bankrupt because of a virus beyond our control, but unfortunately, that’s what’s happening.”
Santiago acknowledged that brokers are an important piece of the freight equation.
“I’m all for brokers. I need them every day. But right now we’re at the lowest we’ve ever been with this pandemic. If we, the brokers and carriers, can work together for fair rates, we can all, literally, make America great again.”
Raul Rosa
I think amazon has something to do with rates going down,its frustrating to see o/o run over there to run for them when they are walmart in the early 2000’s everybody loved them, but we didnt realise that they would put local retail stores out of business STOP RUNNING FOR THEM , on another note, Yes we need more transparency, I challenged the agents I’m contracted with to show me the numbers, and it got ugly.And remember what happened with that company in Indiana after trump reassured them they wouldnt THEY STILL CLOSED!!!!!
Derrick Powell
There should be some sort of fair trade act or bill requiring brokers to disclose the complete rate the shipper is being charged, with this transparency it would make it a much more level field, with all the regulations carriers have to adhere to I’m really surprise brokers do not have the same standards. This is the on industry where the sales rep is not disclosing this very key information. and it come of very shady and how can you trust these brokers when there are not voluntarily revealing this information to carriers. force them to have to do it buy passing a Bill or Act.
Albert Smith
I’ve been a trucker for 42 years. I have never seen brokers take such advantage of drivers as they are right now. The government is always talking about fair acts for this organization and that one. How about us truckers that make this country move. Theres needs to be price control on freight. The bigger companies under bid loads because they can hurting little companies and owner operators. There needs to price regulations on freight to make this a fair market for everyone. The other thing I think is not fair. A company orders this product and then forces us to pay lumpers to unload their load. Many of these lumpers are charging very unfair prices. Its time for companies to start paying to have to endure the cost of unloading their on products.
James Slagle
Here is what I do know. Somebody has got to get in front of this and regulate the system. I pulled a load that went threw 2 small brokers started out at 1000 when I found it on load board it was posted at 500 on 178 miles.. as I was at shipper I spoke with owner that how I found what rate really was so we all end to take a stand and set things right with the industry. I belive we all should be able to run our small business with out what I call bottom feeders cutting our rates . Why should a person who has never sat in a truck much less know what its really like to operate one be able to gross more money in a year than a owner operator. We need to take a stand and just stop taking low ball freight. If freight does not move neither does the country. Many then something will really be done to help the little man who is following the AMERICAN DREAM.
Glenn Hubbard Sr
Glenn Hubbard Sr
This is terrible I ran a load paying $2,300.00 from Kentwood Mi To Rosenberg TX. I called to rebook the load and run it again 4 days later they had it posted the same load for $1,400.00 and they tried to blame it on the shipper!!!!
This is SAD…..
GLH SR.
Scott Stremmel
I just don’t get it!
Freightwaves comments there’s just not alot of freight out there now. Right now that is true, it’s obvious. But, what about before the pandemic. Freight rates were plummeting before the pandemic when freight volume was there.
There needs to be a bottom line on what brokers can profit from shipper to carriers. I’m tired of being lied to when brokers say the shippers aren’t paying the rates needed or fuel surcharge went down. But always an excuse, how they come up with these excuses is the game they play with the market. Volume and capacity! That’s all it is. Big brokers such as CH Robinson, TQL just to name a couple set the market rates (according to DAT). So every broke follows suit to those rates. I’m sorry but to believe all shippers follow suit and drop rates? Shippers do not follow shipping rates to carriers, they don’t have time for that. That’s what their brokers are paid to do and move the freight. So yea I’m a firm believer BROKERS need a cap or bottom as to what they can make. To give an example first two quarters of 2019 brokers hitting all time net profit. Hows that????
So Freigtwave get the total story out there before there’s a comment about no freight or there’s just no profit for brokers or carriers.
I’ve been driving trucks for 35 years. Been in as an o/o for last 3 years and regret it since beginning of 2019 since rates have taken a dive regardless of volume. All you o/o do your research 2019 was a good year for our BROKERS, shippers our economy but yet we as o/o have taken a blunt force hit in our operations cost and finally our family’s.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!
David couch
Most brokers are taking 40 to 50 percent.not 16.thats not right.i have sold all my trucks this year.there is no help for us . get out wile you can.brokers can’t make it with out independent.but they don’t care what the rate is because there going to make something of the load no matter what.its who can help through the lowest bid.they don’t realize not only putting us out of business but there self too
Harold Lacy
Rates,,,ha ha can’t run truck for under $2.00 mile and shouldnt have to put to much on the line and deal with to much logs,parking,rules,fuel,insurance,mantnace ,so on taxi charges $29.00 to go 11 miles who puts up more and pays out more,give me a break it’s just not worth it any more
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