On my Dallas-Atlanta dry van lane today, shipper target is $1.95/mile all-in while carriers keep countering $2.25 with fuel — what tactics are helping you connect the two sides without burning relationships? I’m selling capacity and pitching reliability, but I need better ways to negotiate this spread in real time.
Quick example: on Dallas–ATL last month, I moved carriers from $2.25 with fuel to about $2.05 by converting to drop trailer, publishing a 4–6 hour pickup window, and sharing real dwell (<45 min avg) — it’s more effective than another “selling capacity and pitching reliability” pitch. Can your shipper give you drop trailer access and a wider window Tue–Thu only? That trade usually buys me 10–15 cpm.
I’ve closed that ‘$1.95 all-in’ vs $2.25 by trading speed and certainty: 48‑hr pre‑tender, no late changes, auto‑detention after 60 min, and instant pay; carriers usually drop 10–15 cpm. Ask the shipper to fund a 60‑day reliability kicker to cover the rest while you prove OTP, then taper it as the lane stabilizes. @cbrown91 have you seen instant pay move the needle on DAL→ATL?