Convoy raises $62M from Bill Gates and other luminaries to transform trucking
Speaking as the son of a trucker who spent a summer helping my dad negotiate and optimize his freight rates and schedules, the freight brokerage business is not one I would consider getting into. There is also a ton of competition in the freight brokerage space and the problems associated with shipping are due to poor warehouse management and unreliable truck drivers.<p>Unlike hailing rides in a taxi, manufacturing and shipping generally holds a regular schedule. If you build a reputation as someone who always shows up on time, you can make a lot of money as a truck driver (more than most programmers). After building a good reputation you cut out the broker and work with the manufacturers directly. All you need to do is find two manufacturers in a high paying industry, (pharmaceuticals, chemicals, specialized plastics) whose pickup and dropoff points are near one another and you can be set for years.<p>Most poorly run warehouses can be backed up for 4-6 hours before you can begin unloading. Most standard contracts allow 2 hours from the point of arrival to fully unload your truck. We would negotiate our billing like a lawyer. For any additional time after that grace period we would charge in hourly blocks at over $100 per hour. Companies try to abuse their power by wasting the time of drivers by not paying them to sit idle at their warehouses. Amazon and Walmart are notorious for these practices.<p>I think there is a lot more money to be made using technology to run a high tech fleet of trucks than there is a freight brokerage company. Trucking is an information game for sure but there is too much competition in the freight brokerage space and you can be easily side stepped by savvy truckers.