Hey guys, I have never thought about getting into the freight business, however I currently have a 14' Box truck with a lift gate that I am not actively using in my main business and was approached by a friend that is the GM of an industrial supply company. They are wanting to get away from using their own vehicles/drivers, so he asked me how much I would charge him to have a guy go to his location in my truck 3-5 days a week to pickup items (often pallets of goods) and deliver them to their customers within the surrounding 30-50 miles. Usually 5-7 stops. My driver would be responsible for loading the items to the truck via pallet jack and unloading the items at the delivery location. No merchandising/product placement after delivery. I am seeing this as an opportunity to make some extra cash, utilizing the extra vehicle/lift gate that I have at my disposal. I also have a few retired trucking friends that still have their CDL's (although they won't need it for this type of vehicle) that wouldn't mind working a few days of the week. My question is, how would you price something like this? I see many different pricing structures, however since this is a unique situation where I would be servicing just 1 customer, i'm wondering if that changes things at all? I'd like to keep it as simple as possible for both myself and my client and have been kicking around charging by the hour. If i'm missing any crucial information, please let me know and I will do my best to provide it. Thank you!

Hi, my name is Ivan, I'm from Michigan, and I joined this community to really just get an idea of the freight and logistics business. I'll just be straight up with everyone here, I'm trying to learn the problems and process of owners and people in the logistics and freight world. My background is mainly in programming, so I love logical processes and solving things with automation. So ultimately, I'm interested in figuring out how to fix and automate problems (slow processes and repetition) in the logistics business. With that unconventional intro out of the way, my newbie question is: What does the general process of finding freight and getting it delivered look like? No need for a full breakdown. I appreciate any insight, even a couple sentences helps a lot. Thanks for having me here 👍

I post a lot of content primarily photos of work we do on social media. Lately I have increasingly seen images of our warehouses, crating, equipment being used by others. Primarily foreigners trying to get business as brokers or dispatchers etc. This is a post by a dispatcher that I don’t know, using a picture that was taken by me in my warehouse. If they are willing to advertise stealing other people’s photos. I don’t think they will have a problem with stealing your money. #papafreight

Thought the below article on ocean my be interesting for all at SKOOL. These tactics do create challenges, the first challenge is Steam Ship Lines (SSL) will increase rates, have seen containers go up by $3000 USD per container. The second challenge is capacity spike on inland modes. When shippers Front load pull peak forward this generally drives rates up on all modes. With capacity tightening, rates are already high result could be more orders left on dock. The positive, carriers and warehouse providers will see an uptick in volumes earlier than normal. Ocean shippers frontload cargo ahead of tariffs, fuel concerns Tariff concerns and higher costs are prompting altering shipping timelines, signaling an early peak, per C.H. Robinson Worldwide President of Global Forwarding Mike Short. Published June 12, 2026 Dive Brief: - Ocean shippers are frontloading cargo to mitigate rising shipping costs and anticipated tariffs, according to the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associate’s Global Port Tracker. - June import volumes are expected to increase by 14.3% year over year, indicating an earlier peak season. Higher costs from tariffs and fuel prices expected in August are leading retailers to bring in merchandise early, NRF VP of Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said in the release. - “The current import surge will likely last into July, with an early peak season that resembles the more recent pattern of raised volume rather than a sharp peak,” Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said. Import volumes are then expected to weaken due to consumer uncertainty and increasing inflation, he said in the release. Dive Insight: Growing market uncertainty is spurring shipper concern, which is influencing ocean shipping patterns. Fuel costs are on the rise as the Iran war disrupts global oil transport through the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s tariff-heavy trade policy is prompting supply chain uncertainty

If you’re the sales team, dispatcher, customer service, and admin… your business has a bottleneck. Growth happens when you stop doing everything yourself. A Freight VA can assist with: - Data entry - Rate confirmations - POD collection - Load updates - Customer support - Email management The goal isn’t to work harder. It's to work smarter. Which role takes up most of your day right now?