FOR TOBIN: I haven't a trucking clue!!!

[MiddleFingerMom]

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I just realized that I haven't a clue as to how the finances are
determined for and by an independent trucker.
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I guess first -- how do you find loads? Are there "hubs" or something
covering a region/city that you contact looking for someone that needs
your service? Do you contact individual companies/corporations? Are
there listings somewhere ("For a good time, call Frigidaire")?
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How do you figure out what to charge? Is there a complex formula or
simple? Weight? Square or cubic footage? Value of cargo? Miles? Lack
or abundance of demand for your services at the moment? Do people
needing your services BID for them? Do they try to (not sure of the
term) lowball you in the hopes that you're desperate for a load of any
kind -- even if it's just to minimize your losses on a return trip?
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Are there set amounts offered by those needing your services? Are
there set amounts "agreed upon" in general by you and your peers?
If you're young/new and really HUSTLING, do you give discounts or
cheaper rates to attract more business than your peers?
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Are you paid upfront? On delivery? Some combination?
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Do you know BEFORE going, for instance, to the West Coast... that
you'll have something for the return trip? Do you have to hope that
something will be available? Do you wait, hoping/knowing something
will be needed eventually?
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Do you ever have trouble COLLECTING for your services? Bounced
checks? Reluctant payments? Disputes in amounts due?
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Deadheading, I assume, is travelling without a load -- when do you
decide that you need to do that to get to more work?
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How do your customers know what they're getting with and from you?
Is there some sort of rating service that will tell a business that "Tobin
is very reliable" etc.? Word-of-mouth? Can you get a bad rep from a
single individual or company that wants to screw you for whatever
reason (besides, you know... how hot you look in those bib coveralls)?
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So many more questions. Basically, how do you set your price/get
your work?
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You may very well have covered this before, but if so... I missed it.
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Please make an OP under your own Subject heading with your answers
and explanations (should you decide to accept this mission).

[A HERETIC I AM]

1. I can answer a few of those generic trucking industry questions (I drove OTR for 20 years)

I guess first -- how do you find loads? Are there "hubs" or something
covering a region/city that you contact looking for someone that needs
your service? Do you contact individual companies/corporations? Are
there listings somewhere ("For a good time, call Frigidaire")?

There are "Load Boards" and load services ie: Brokers where an entity with a load to move would contact the broker and the broker finds a truck to do the move. Here's a Google search results page for "Truck load boards";
http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy&hl=en&q=truck+load+boards&aq=f&aqi=g4g-o1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=751d537db8d9b27a

Most truck stops used to have this sort of information on a TV screen in the drivers lounge area. They may still, but I've not been in too many truckstops for the last 4 years. Many Owner Operators contract with a carrier which will keep them loaded as best they can and therefore, the onus to find loads is on the company, not the driver. If I am not mistaken, Tobin contracts with such a carrier.
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How do you figure out what to charge? Is there a complex formula or
simple? Weight? Square or cubic footage? Value of cargo? Miles? Lack
or abundance of demand for your services at the moment? Do people
needing your services BID for them? Do they try to (not sure of the
term) lowball you in the hopes that you're desperate for a load of any
kind -- even if it's just to minimize your losses on a return trip?

Tobin should more thoroughly answer this one for you, as his situation may be different than my experience. Generally though, freight is moved and charged by the mile and occasionally the piece, such as with automobiles or heavy equipment.
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Are there set amounts offered by those needing your services? Are
there set amounts "agreed upon" in general by you and your peers?
If you're young/new and really HUSTLING, do you give discounts or
cheaper rates to attract more business than your peers?

Shippers are always looking for the best rates and there is a lot of undercutting in the industry. There is a minimum per mile charge for each firm at which point the truck breaks even. Some large firms (JB Hunt, Schneider, etc.) can afford to move a truck for several hundred miles at a loss in order to pick up a load that makes money.
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Are you paid upfront? On delivery? Some combination?

Most freight charges are settled on delivery, but "Freight pre-paid" is not at all uncommon.
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Do you know BEFORE going, for instance, to the West Coast... that
you'll have something for the return trip? Do you have to hope that
something will be available? Do you wait, hoping/knowing something
will be needed eventually?

Not to speak for Tobin, but generally yes, a driver going out to the west coast is almost guaranteed the availability of return freight. There is an enormous amount of merchandise that moves back and forth across this country.
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Do you ever have trouble COLLECTING for your services? Bounced
checks? Reluctant payments? Disputes in amounts due?

There are deadbeats everywhere, but Tobin can answer about his own experience. I never had to worry as I always was a "company driver" and it was up to my firm to worry about collecting.
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Deadheading, I assume, is travelling without a load -- when do you
decide that you need to do that to get to more work?

I've had to deadhead in the past up to 600 miles. It happens that a delivery might take you to a place where there is simply no outbound freight you can haul (all of it needs a reefer, for instance and all you have is a flatbed or a dry van).
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How do your customers know what they're getting with and from you?
Is there some sort of rating service that will tell a business that "Tobin
is very reliable" etc.? Word-of-mouth? Can you get a bad rep from a
single individual or company that wants to screw you for whatever
reason (besides, you know... how hot you look in those bib coveralls)?

Tobin.....?
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Hope I didn't step on his toes, but I thought I might be able to answer a couple anyway.

[Tobin S.]

2. Alright, I will clue you in. :)

1. I am not completely independent. I lease my truck to a trucking company where I am contracted to haul their freight. I mainly haul from one of their terminals to some major city, deliver the freight, then go to the next nearest terminal and pick up some more of their fright and go back to where I came from. I can haul what are called brokered loads if I find myself a long distance from the nearest terminal to get me back there without losing money, but I have yet to do that.

2. Since I'm leased to a company the freight rates are set, but they vary on which area of the country I'm going to. My home terminal is Cincinnati and I usually head out of there going to the west coast. If I have a load with 3 or 4 stops on it with some hazmat freight, which is usually the case coming out of there, my rate is around $1.44 a mile. Coming out of the west coast, the rate varies on the location of the shipping terminal. I'm averaging about $1.35 a mile right now.

When you are completely independent, the other questions in that section apply, but I don't have to worry about that stuff.

3. I am paid on a weekly basis. All freight bills turned in by Friday at noon will be paid the following Friday.

4. When I take off from Cincy, say going to Seattle, I will call the Seattle terminal and tell them when I'm going to be in the area. Once I get to Seattle and make my deliveries, I go to the terminal and they will have something for me to haul going back to the midwest, usually pretty close to Cincy. I can usually get re-loaded within 24 hours, but it takes longer than that sometimes.

5. I've never had a problem with getting my pay from this company. Independents do have a problem collecting from time to time.

6. I will deadhead to get to a terminal when I can't find a load that will get me there, but it's usually not a big deal to run a few empty miles. I don't usually have to deadhead a great deal so it's not a problem. I've only run empty over 100 miles twice since I've been with this outfit. Sometimes I don't have any deadhead at all between loads.

7. Since I'm just dealing with one customer, I have to make sure that I've got a good reputation with them. That mainly means getting the freight to its destination on time. It also means that I'll do favors sometimes and also that I have to be friendly with the people at the terminal.

[MiddleFingerMom]

3. Thanks, to both of you.

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:hi:
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Tobin, if you have the time and inclination and CAN answer the questions,
can you let me know the answers as if you WERE totally independent?
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You've created a monster here.
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[Tobin S.]

4. I'll give it a shot, MFM

But I don't have any experience in being an independent so I may not have all of the answers.

I just realized that I haven't a clue as to how the finances are
determined for and by an independent trucker.
.
.
I guess first -- how do you find loads? Are there "hubs" or something
covering a region/city that you contact looking for someone that needs
your service? Do you contact individual companies/corporations? Are
there listings somewhere ("For a good time, call Frigidaire")?

Some independents strictly haul for freight brokers. Others may have a customer or two that they mainly haul for, maybe only using a freight broker for back hauls here and there. If you have a customer that you haul a lot for, you have to develop a business relationship with someone high up on the corporate ladder. A lot of times it may be with the actual owner of the business.
.
.
.
How do you figure out what to charge? Is there a complex formula or
simple? Weight? Square or cubic footage? Value of cargo? Miles? Lack
or abundance of demand for your services at the moment? Do people
needing your services BID for them? Do they try to (not sure of the
term) lowball you in the hopes that you're desperate for a load of any
kind -- even if it's just to minimize your losses on a return trip?

All of those things go into determining a freight rate. It depends on the type of trailer needed, value of the load, type of freight, size and weight of the load, and the length of haul. You also may be able to negotiate a better freight rate depending on how badly the freight needs to be moved and how quickly it needs to get to its destination. Customers do not usually bid on trucks. It's usually the other way around with possibly several truckers or trucking companies competing for the business. It's the independent's job to get the highest rate possible for his or her services and it is the shipper's job to get the freight moved for the lowest rate possible. A lot of truckers do move freight cheaply to get back to a desired area. Sometimes the only other choice is to sit and wait which can cost you more than hauling a cheap load.
.
.
.
Are there set amounts offered by those needing your services? Are
there set amounts "agreed upon" in general by you and your peers?
If you're young/new and really HUSTLING, do you give discounts or
cheaper rates to attract more business than your peers?

When you are an independent, there are no set rates. Everything is negotiable. You may be able to get a contract with a customer to haul at a set rate for a while, but at some point that will also be subject to re-negotiation. I guess new independents might try to undercut someone elses freight rate in an attempt to get business. Experienced independents might try that, too, I suppose. There are as many definitions of what a good rate is as there independents. If I were an independent I would try to haul for $2 a mile or better. One trucker might look at that and think it's too cheap. Another might look at it and think that he or she can still be profitable running cheaper.
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Are you paid upfront? On delivery? Some combination?

Sometimes independents are paid on delivery, but I think it's more common for them to have to bill a customer. They usually have 30 days to pay. Sometimes an independent may sell his or her freight bills for a discount to get the money fast. When a customer doesn't pay on time I suppose a collection service may be used.
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.
.
Do you know BEFORE going, for instance, to the West Coast... that
you'll have something for the return trip? Do you have to hope that
something will be available? Do you wait, hoping/knowing something
will be needed eventually?

The answer is similar to what I said about my own experience. I would think an independent would be trying to book his or her next load as soon as he or she knows where they are going.
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Do you ever have trouble COLLECTING for your services? Bounced
checks? Reluctant payments? Disputes in amounts due?

Sometimes independents do have trouble collecting what is due to them, and every once in a while they may have to write an entire load off.
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Deadheading, I assume, is travelling without a load -- when do you
decide that you need to do that to get to more work?

Same deal as me as far as independents go. It is sometimes more profitable to run empty a little ways to get a load than sitting and waiting for something close to come up.
.
.
.
How do your customers know what they're getting with and from you?
Is there some sort of rating service that will tell a business that "Tobin
is very reliable" etc.? Word-of-mouth? Can you get a bad rep from a
single individual or company that wants to screw you for whatever
reason (besides, you know... how hot you look in those bib coveralls)?

I know of no such service to rate independents. You just have to get someone to give you a shot and prove yourself.
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So many more questions. Basically, how do you set your price/get
your work?

You have to set your price high enough to be profitable taking into account your business expenses. At the same time you have to remember that you are competing with a lot of other independents and trucking companies. You can get freight using brokers, load boards, and also by trying to sell your services to companies that you like to haul for.