Stop Hauling Cheap Freight

Every single day in American trucking logistics, dispatchers and fleet managers face the same exhausting dilemma. A cheap broker calls with an underpriced lane, and instead of saying no, the carrier accepts it just to keep the wheels turning. It is high time we stopped this madness.

Suppose every single carrier in the United States decided to walk away from freight paying less than their break-even rate for just one week. The entire logistics market would stabilize almost overnight. Shippers would realize they cannot treat trucking companies like discount warehouses.

We talk endlessly about margin squeeze, insurance renewal spikes, and rising fuel costs, yet many operations teams act as if their trucks were born to run for free. They take on losing lanes and treat them as a temporary loss leader, hoping the shipper will eventually offer more volume.

That strategy almost never works. If you do not establish a strict rate floor and maintain total pricing discipline, you will find yourself wearing many hats just to keep the lights on. You are not a charity; you are a business providing vital capacity.

During my early days in freight sales back in Boston, I made a terrible mistake. I would rather have hauled a load for pennies than admit to my boss that I could not cover the lane. I once booked a load that did not even cover our fuel costs.

Why did I do it? I wanted to impress a difficult shipper who promised endless future loads. It was as though I were under some strange spell. I spent hours in a stressful coaching session with my manager the next morning.

Unsurprisingly, that shipper never called us again. They took our cheap rate and moved on to another gullible broker. That painful lesson taught me more than any career development seminar ever could.

Whenever a difficult driver calls to complain about a canceled load, or a team lead worries about losing a client, I remind them of that day. We need to justify an increase whenever costs go up, and we must never back down from our numbers.

Let us look at the asset side of our business. If your equipment is not generating a healthy return, you are essentially paying the shipper to haul their cargo. That is not logistics; that is philanthropy.

So the next time a cheap broker tries to pressure you into a bad rate, remember this column. Stand by your price, protect your margins, and let the unprofitable freight go to someone else.

Read again and choose the right answer

What does the author suggest carriers should do for one week?

• Raise all rates by fifty percent
• Walk away from freight below the break-even rate
• Work only with local brokers

Why did the author once haul a load below fuel cost?

• To impress a shipper who promised future loads
• Because her manager forced her to do it
• To help out a difficult driver

What happens when carriers accept losing lanes as loss leaders?

• Shippers always give them more volume later
• The strategy almost never works
• Insurance companies lower their rates

What comparison does the author make about hauling cheap freight?

• She compares it to running a charity
• She compares it to driving a brand new truck
• She compares it to a routine maintenance check

Sources: photo by Jan van der Wolf on Pexels