Lease on with authority or without authority?

Big question.

First one to ponder - 7% or 20% of X,

Vs - 100% of Y.

Which is greater?

 

Well generally with your own authority either you dispatch yourself or you find a dispatch service they will do that for 5% or whatever they charge. They'll charge more if they do your ifta and all of your paperwork Etc just depends what they're going to do for you. I don't see the need for any of that for a one truck guy but some guys do it...

I've never heard of a dispatch service that has their own authority and they want you to run under their Authority and they dispatch you. That's a motor carrier, a trucking company. Now there are some places like mag carriers where you sign on under their Authority but you book all your own loads. You just are basically using their Authority instead of having your own.

What do I think about all of it? I think if you're going to get your own authority then get on the phone and start booking loads. I myself would not trust the booking of loads with someone else doing it. Why pay someone else to do that? In this business you really have to decide where your money is going because so much of it goes out you need to keep everything that you can.

If you do not want your Authority then I would say the next best thing is to go someplace like mag carriers or someplace like that, because it's the same as having your Authority but they do all your paperwork and they do everything for you if that's what you want. I can't remember I think they paid 90% of the load or something but they completely did everything you literally just find loads and drive.

I would not lease onto a dispatch service. When you do that you can only pull their loads whatever those are they find for you good bad or indifferent. At least if you lease on to someone like Mercer they have an army of salespeople that are out there securing their own freight and making sure you get paid and making sure that you get detention. If you sign onto some dispatch service you're just at the mercy of whatever loads they give you and that's all you can do is take their loads. And most likely they're just pulling loads off the load boards just like you would do.

That to me sounds like a terrible idea.

 

That’s a pretty good wrap up of the subject right there.

 

My experience is , leased to a carrier. An agent has better rates than brokers do, Most of the problem loads are broker loads.

 

There not making that much of a difference in money since if you lease to them you would be on there insurance unless they turn around and charge you for it.Why did you even get your own authority with no kind of plan or knowledge of how to make money? I personally have 0 understanding why anyone would use a dispatch service with a 1 truck operation. Goes to my thoughts about most who buy a truck and go lease to carriers really have no need in owning a truck you can make just as much money with a good job,unless you live in an area where jobs aren’t as plentiful then you might need to buy a job.There are plenty of good drivers out here that doesn’t transfer to be able to be a good salesperson which is what you have to be able to do.Even just running on load boards is not a good plan you will get good loads here and there most of the time you will get so so loads to hit and miss to be a good plan.To make it worth doing you need to find some kind of niche in the area you live for example is there a nursery in your area they have busy season a lot of times they need help.

 

Don't worry about that one bit. You'll feel much more comfortable with all of that literally after one week. So don't let this part affect your decision at all. It means nothing.