TransportFool

It has been evident to me for some time that the broker bond of $10,000 that is required is way too small. This story from the Village Voice illustrates the problem very well. Grannies car is held hostage because the carrier needs to get paid and the bond is inadequate!

I spoke with Ajaco and they indicated that Ajaco Towing did get partial payment from the broker because of the considerable pressure that was applied. They indicated that they got paid for most of the transport fee but none of the storage.

I spoke with A Eastern Connection/A Blue Knight and he indicated that he simply produced canceled checks showing that the carrier had been paid and that is how the cars got released. He does not feel that an increase in the bonding would have made any difference in this instance.

Who should we believe?

UPDATE: I have seen a copy of a check written by A Blue Knight to Ajaco for $1400 that indicated that payment had been stopped! Neither the broker or the carrier explained that to me during the interviews. Why was payment stopped?? Everyone seems to agree that the customers had both paid prior to the move.

Another UPDATE: I have learned from the AG office that the dispute between Ajaco and A Blue Knight revolved around an prior unrelated move that had nothing to do with these ladies cars!

Shipcarsnow is a subsidiary of Union Pacific and has expanded their inter-modal service to the used car marketplace. They recognize that the online auctions has created new challenges for those carriers that concentrate on service to the used car dealers. They are available to subcontract the jobs you don’t want but better yet they will ship the vehicles to a rail head near you where your trucks can load and supply the last leg of the intermodal journey. With fuel prices where they are now this promises to be a very cost effective way for the transporters to adapt to the trend for buyers to purchase online from many different locations. You can read more about the options to work with them here.

Do we need an alternative to Central Dispatch?  That is really the question.  John Skelton from Carrierrates.com thinks he has a better model that will streamline the flow of loads to carriers and at the same time keep the rates stable.

Instead of the shipper choosing the rate the shipper posts his/her need and then his system sends emails to the carriers that serve that route and they post their rate and availability for that shipment.

At this point, he is comfortable with his carrier list, and continues to grow the list. He is working on the shippers list now.  I think it is always in his best interest to sign up new carriers.

Another feature that sets his model apart from Central Dispatch is that he does not charge the carrier but instead relies on the shippers’ that posts for the revenue.  Since carriers ultimately have to pad their rates to cover those overhead costs, it does make sense to put it on the shippers’ shoulders up front.

I would like to hear your opinions.

I have noticed a big drop in fuel prices in the last week at exit 200 on I-40 near my home. Is this wide spread or just a local price war?

Apparently auto transport scammers are becoming a problem on Craigslist! The problem I can see is that they are advising that we can avoid scams by dealing in person rather than online! I think it would really hamper your choices if you actually took that advise! I have a database of thousands of legit auto shippers that I have developed over the years that could possibly be used along side of government sites to verify the authenticity of a shipper as well as supply valid communication info such as phone numbers  and email addresses to make sure you are actually dealing with a shipper rather than someone who has looked up a licensed shipper and uses their name to scam you!

email me at dave@ezdispatch if you would like your shipper verified.