Freight brokers did see some signs of stabilization in 2009, moving an average of 990 loads per month despite the fact that truck freight was down 9 percent from 2008.
The brokerage data comes from the annual TransCore Broker Benchmark Survey, which gauged the detailed responses of more than 225 brokers, broker-carriers, and third party logistics or 3PLs about their 2009 operations and financial performance.

Despite the upheaval in 2009, brokers without assets reported a slight uptick in gross margins per truckload, from 15.3 percent in 2008 to 15.9 percent in 2009. Because of the high fixed costs associated with carrier operations, however, gross margin per truckload for asset-based brokers dropped to 14.1 percent compared to 15.2 percent in 2008.

Freight forwarders and 3PLs reported the highest margins per truckload among survey respondents, with 16.5 percent in 2009 compared to 16.2 percent in 2008. The overall average was 15.6 percent, which was not significantly off from last year's 15.3 percent average response.

Respondents posted average revenues of $34.8 million, with average productivity exceeding $850,000 per employee. The highest productivity, of more than $1 million per employee, was reported by firms with 21 to 100 employees.

To download a copy of the survey, click here.