Would you add a leg to your route if it meant potentially boosting your revenue by 25%? By 35%? Maybe even 50%?
With DAT’s one-of-a-kind TriHaul™ tool, you get automatic suggestions for triangular routes that can help you avoid low-paying lanes and backhaul rates.
TriHaul is included in every DAT One subscription, which lets you plan your routes more efficiently while putting more money in your pocket,
HOW DOES DAT TRIHAUL WORK?
Whenever you search for a load with DAT One, you’ll see the average rate paid on that lane for the past 15 days – even when the broker doesn’t include a rate on the load post. Based on those rates, DAT One can give you TriHaul suggestions, with routes that can boost your revenue, depending on deadhead miles and your hours of service.
TriHaul will give you 5 suggestions, and you can compare the average rate per loaded mile with the average rate on the regular there-and-back roundtrip.
Let’s say you’ve got a van load lined up going from Columbus, OH, to Buffalo, NY. I’m writing this in early August, and the average rate has been $3.00/mile. Pretty nice. The return trip from Buffalo to Columbus averaged just $1.67/mile, though. If you negotiated the average rate on both legs, you’d get $1,541 for 660 miles, not counting deadhead. Still, pretty good.
But when I search for loads from Buffalo to Columbus, one of the TriHaul suggestions I get is to go from Buffalo to Pittsburgh instead. That’s a short haul that paid $2.90/mile on average. The last leg of the trip is another short haul from Pittsburgh to Columbus, which also averaged $2.90/mile. Not counting any potential deadhead miles, the extra drop and pick would add 74 miles and boost your revenue to $2,162 for the roundtrip. That’s 40% higher than the straight there-and-back.
Obviously there are still a lot of other factors to consider, but even if you don’t decide to create that TriHaul, you can still use the tool to research new lanes and find other ways to expand your carrier business.
To get the TriHaul tool and 15-day rates, sign up for DAT One.
