How a brokered rate is built
A freight rate is not a price list. It is a number assembled out of a handful of moving parts, and knowing which parts move explains almost every quote you will ever get from us.
Direction is most of the price
The same miles cost different money depending on which way they point. A truck heading somewhere it wants to be is cheap. A truck heading into a market it will struggle to leave has to price in the empty miles out again, and you pay for those whether anyone itemises them or not. This is why a lane can double in cost while the distance stays identical.
What a short window really costs
Notice is worth money. A load posted for tomorrow morning is priced against whoever happens to be nearby and empty right now, which is a much smaller pool than the one available with four days of warning. If your pickup date has any flexibility in it at all, telling us is usually worth more than negotiating.
Why we would rather requote than renegotiate
If the market moves under a lane we have quoted, we will come back and say so. What we try never to do is accept a rate we already suspect will not cover, then reappear the afternoon before pickup asking for more. That practice gets loads covered on paper and leaves shippers stranded in reality.
| Lane direction | Headhaul or backhaul, often the single biggest factor |
|---|---|
| Notice given | Same day costs more than same week |
| Equipment | Reefer and open deck price above dry van |
| Season | Produce season tightens Florida capacity hard |
| Accessorials | Detention, lift gate, tarping, inside delivery |
| Repeat volume | Regular lanes price differently to one offs |
Related
Want a number on a real lane?
Give us the origin, the destination and the timing. You will get a rate with the reasoning attached rather than a figure with nothing behind it.