Trucking News: Diesel Fuel Prices - 10/23/2018

Mike

Well-Known Member
Following are the average prices by region as reported by the ProMiles.com:
  • U.S. – $3.32, down eight-tenths of a cent
  • East Coast – $3.351, down three-tenths of a cent
  • New England – $3.319, up 1.6 cents
  • Central Atlantic – $3.551, unchanged
  • Lower Atlantic – $3.245, down five-tenths of a cent
  • Midwest – $3.31, down 1.4 cents
  • Gulf Coast – $3.172, down four-tenths of a cent
  • Rocky Mountain – $3.406, up 1.1 cents
  • West Coast – $3.745, down eight-tenths of a cent
  • West Coast less California, $3.511, down one-tenth of a cent
  • California, $4.068, down four-tenths of a cent
Diesel fuel indexes show first price decrease in two months
 
I heard on the radio yesterday gasoline was up .38 cents a gal over the same time last year.I haven`t heard any brokers yet offer to help us on the fuel surcharge
 
you said a mouthful there,maybe with a revolver...

no reason for it to go up like that but pure greed
 
Fuel surcharge is bid on long term contracts. Spot market one-off loads don't get involved in that. You need to build fuel into the rate.
 
Fuel surcharge is bid on long term contracts. Spot market one-off loads don't get involved in that. You need to build fuel into the rate.
And just how do you know he isn’t bidding on contracts? ;)

I get approached with this stuff quite a bit. For some reason, though, I have yet to land a contract. I’m thinking my base rate may be a bit too high, lol.

Had one broker try to get me to bid contract freight that included a load I was doing regularly, then another one from that receiver down to Houston, then having to find a third load back home. Never could get the guy to grasp my surcharge requirement on the rate.
 
And just how do you know he isn’t bidding on contracts? ;)

I get approached with this stuff quite a bit. For some reason, though, I have yet to land a contract. I’m thinking my base rate may be a bit too high, lol.

Had one broker try to get me to bid contract freight that included a load I was doing regularly, then another one from that receiver down to Houston, then having to find a third load back home. Never could get the guy to grasp my surcharge requirement on the rate.
Generally speaking, broker freight on load boards isn't contract freight. However, you do see guys chasing spot market freight whining about "fuel surcharge" all the time.
 
Generally speaking, broker freight on load boards isn't contract freight. However, you do see guys chasing spot market freight whining about "fuel surcharge" all the time.
Load board freight typically is contract freight a broker can't get covered with their normal channels.

Especially when you get it off a board like JB Hunt, prime logistics, Schneider, England etc.


Even some of the not so popular logistics services.

There's a reason it's called "third party logistics".
 
Load board freight typically is contract freight a broker can't get covered with their normal channels.

Especially when you get it off a board like JB Hunt, prime logistics, Schneider, England etc.


Even some of the not so popular logistics services.

There's a reason it's called "third party logistics".
I'll agree with you on brokerages associated with larger carriers. However, for the most part, that's a bullshit statement.
 
I always thought load boards aka spot was mostly shippers who generally lacked volume to set up contracts (aka dedicated carriers).
It’s a little bit of everything.

Most brokers have carriers they have found through the load boards that are basically dedicated to them. Broker likes the work a carrier does, carrier likes the idea of not having to communicate with a million different brokers, and a partnership is basically formed.

Advantage, carrier has easier access to freight, and basically has somebody always looking for their next load.

Disadvantage, at times when the spot market is yielding good rates, you are missing out on revenue potential. Also, you become somewhat pressured to do loads you would prefer not to.

So far, I have chosen to play the spot market game.
 
However, for the most part, that's a bullshit statement.

It’s actually a very accurate statement. Most any established broker, large or small, has their own regular trucks for the bulk of their freight. Load boards are there for them to find trucks for the rest of the stuff that pops up and for the loads they lose a truck on at the last minute.
 
That's not even the angle I was talking about. The broker isn't always the shipper. The shipper is the one with the freight. If they're small they're gonna post to load boards before they sign a dedicated contract.

Lot of small shippers out there who can't promise a carrier enough work to get them to keep trucks and drivers available.

Once they reach that level or decide to give one guy all the work, they'll cut out all the middlemen and the load board is moot.

Of course a lot of the time it's a carrier farming stuff out too but I would imagine that's less than just the regular little guys carving out their slice.

Kinda like how the biggest megas are minuscule compared to all the O/Os combined.
 
It’s actually a very accurate statement. Most any established broker, large or small, has their own regular trucks for the bulk of their freight. Load boards are there for them to find trucks for the rest of the stuff that pops up and for the loads they lose a truck on at the last minute.
How many trucks do TQL, CH Robinson, Calvary Logistics, Armstrong Logistics, Choptank, Uber, Convoy, etc, etc have?

ZERO.

The vast majority of brokerages are not motor carriers, like Landslut, England, JB Hunt or Prime. Large carriers chase contract freight, and are frequently offered terms that are "take it all, or you get none of it." They establish brokerages to deal with their own under-capacity problems. JB Hunt doesn't even have an OTR capability.
 

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