Who are we?
A budding logistics company that specializes in transporting vehicles in the USA. In this market, we act as a broker - an intermediary that earns on the difference between the declared cost of transportation for the client and the actual cost at which the carrier is willing to perform the job.
How does the car transportation process work in the USA?
Despite the fact that there are indeed large logistics companies in the US auto transport market that have 50+ trucks (car carriers) and have direct contracts with car manufacturers, large dealers, auctions, and car rental companies - 85% of carriers are so-called "Owner Operators".
Owner-operators are individual entrepreneurs (truck drivers) who typically own 1-3 car carriers and simultaneously act as both the owner of the company and the driver or logistics coordinator (dispatcher).
These market representatives obtain loads for their trucks through a special marketplace - a resource where
brokers post loads after providing a quote to the client and receiving payment for transportation, thus "reselling" the load to the direct performer of the work. [Attachment1.png]
What needs to be done?
A calculator needs to be developed that calculates the cost of transporting a car in the United States. A separate section is also required - a page for configuring this calculator, and a database where all incoming leads will be stored.
After calculating the transportation cost, the client should be given the opportunity to pay for the service by integrating various payment methods into the project.
How should it work?
1. The client enters the Zip Code for Pick up and Delivery, or simply the names of the cities.
2. The client specifies the type of vehicle, year, make, and model.
3. The client selects the type of location for pick-up and delivery, indicates whether the car should be started, specifies the desired pick-up and delivery dates, and the type of trailer for transportation.
4. The client receives a summary of the cost and details of their order, with the option to make payment using various payment methods.[Attachment2.png]
What does the price depend on?
The calculator should provide competitive quotes for clients. The price for auto transport varies based on a significant number of different factors, some of which are as follows:
- Seasonality - For example, there are so-called SnowBirds. These are people who regularly move from one residence to another depending on the season. For example - in winter, transporting a 2022 Honda Civic from snowy Boston to sunny Miami will cost $1500, $1/mile. This is explained by the fact that there are many such orders in this season in the market, a standard model of supply and demand. At the same time, transporting the same car on the same route and distance back from Miami to Boston will cost a maximum of $500, $0.30/mile, as all owner-operators want to return to the region where the cargo pays well, and there aren't enough trucks for everyone.
- Weather conditions - For example, after hurricanes and floods in Florida, submerged cars are mass transported across states for disposal, repair, and resale, or simply as donors for parts. Also, in the case of adverse weather conditions in some states (snowstorms in Idaho and Montana, unbearable heat in Texas and Arizona), the cost of transportation increases.
- Type of vehicle body - transporting a Ford F-150 pickup truck costs more than transporting a Mazda MX-5, as it takes up more space on the trailer.
- Urgency of the order - to have the car picked up and transported as quickly as possible, the price for transportation must be higher than the average price for a specific route, then the carrier will want to take the load.
- Distance of transportation - more is paid for loads over short distances than for loads over long distances. The shorter the distance, the faster the delivery of the load, accordingly, a new load needs to be taken, and going further, while reloading the trailer is a huge amount of work
- Type of locations for pick-up and delivery/condition of the car - transporting a car from an auction to a client costs more than, for example, from Residence to Residence. This is explained by the fact that auctions have limited working hours, and to pick up the load, an "appointment" must be scheduled, which is not always available. Another topic is the condition of the car. A car that does not start and cannot move can be loaded onto a trailer with a loader, but an inoperable load can block the entire trailer and significantly change the entire delivery order, as inop needs to be delivered first.
- Overall market condition - sometimes there are only 30,000 orders in the market, which is considered a poor indicator. There aren't enough loads for everyone, they disappear quickly, and for pennies. When there are 70-80 thousand orders in the market - loads go for more.
- Modified cars [Attachment3.png] - in the USA, there are restrictions on the maximum possible height and length of car carriers. Americans often "lift" or lower their cars. A lifted Jeep Wrangler is significantly taller than stock, thus increasing the overall height of the truck. This also applies to Roof Racks, service bodies, and other modifications that affect the overall size of the car
Main difficulty (the solution of which is currently unknown to us) / Summary
In trying to automate the process of calculating the price for services, we want to provide the most competitive quotes for clients. As a person who is very far from programming, building algorithms, etc., I do not know if such a task is feasible in principle, considering the serious number of factors affecting the price of the service.
Currently, after we receive transportation information from the client, we do this process manually.
We go to the marketplace, analyze the market for this route, name a price to the client, considering the difference on which we earn. Whether it is possible to create a product that will automatically provide a rational price to the client is unknown to us, we expect to receive an answer to this question from a potential performer of the work.
I would also like to add that the marketplace from which we take loads has its own API and supports integration into various projects. The link to the loading board itself will be left in the section below. There, market statistics/analysis is also available, based on which the price is determined. We are ready to provide access to our account if necessary.
Resources
centraldispatch.com - marketplace, all loads are here
https://api-docs.centraldispatch.com/ - marketplace API
https://www.jandstransport.com/car-shipping-calculator/ - ready product of competitors 1
montway.com - 2
https://sgtautotransport.com - 3
https://nexusautotransport.com - 4
http://roadrunnerautotransport.com - 5
ATTENTION
Communication only through Telegram, after this post I will close the freelance exchange, and I do not know when I will open it next time. I will not see offers coming on the freelance platform. The link to Telegram will be in the attached files [Attachment3], the system does not allow providing contact details. I am ready to discuss the cost of work. Thank you!
