What kind of trucking companies hire independent truck dispatchers and why they do so?
First, let’s recognize that not every trucking company needs an independent truck dispatcher. The main duty of the independent truck dispatcher is to find, negotiate, and book loads for trucking companies, and not all trucking companies need this type of service.
Let’s take a look at a couple of examples. Some trucking
companies operate solely on a contract basis. That means that they have a contract with a shipper or multiple shippers, and their freight has been secured for months or even years to come. So, they don’t need an independent truck dispatcher to look for loads for them.
For a different example, let’s imagine a motor carrier with 10 trucks. Should such motor carrier hire an independent truck dispatcher? My guess is not, and here is why. Independent truck dispatchers earn money by charging trucking companies either a flat or a percentage of the loads they have booked for them. An independent truck dispatcher can make on average $1,000-1,200 per month per truck they dispatch.
That is great, but as you can imagine for a trucking company with 10 trucks, this would mean they will acquire an expense of $10,000-12,000 per month that they would have to pay out to an independent truck dispatcher. I bet such a motor carrier could just hire an employee dispatcher for about $4,000 a month and save themselves $6,000-8,000 per month.
So, what kind of trucking company needs your services as an independent truck dispatcher? How about a small truck company?
Just imagine a motor carrier that owns one truck and the owner also drives it. An owner operator needs to deal with the loading and unloading of the truck, cargo securement, scales, DOT inspections, and traffic. Then you add in searching for loads, negotiating with brokers who try to take advantage of them, and completing the paperwork. All of those responsibilities will make the life of this owner operator more difficult. And that’s where an independent truck dispatcher comes in. An independent truck dispatcher can take care of all these things at a fraction of the cost of an employee.
Does that mean that you can only work with a trucking company that owns one truck? No, you can work with a trucking company that owns two or three trucks since it’s still not going to be feasible for them to hire an employee.
But for trucking companies with five or more trucks, it will be feasible for them to hire an employee in most cases, and they will not need your services.
So, when you do your marketing, you should concentrate on targeting trucking companies with one to three trucks.
In the following posts, we are going to discuss how to find such trucking companies and what other criteria you may want to consider when targeting your potential clients.
© By Roman Shmundyak March 2022
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