posted May 30, 2026 · 1 hour, 51 minutes ago

Greenleaf Logistics vs freight broker — what's the actual cost difference?

We're shipping pallets of hardware goods between our 3 Ohio locations about twice a week. Currently using a freight broker but the invoices are all over the place — different rates every shipment, random fuel surcharges. Greenleaf Logistics was recommended to me at a local chamber event. Has anyone compared working directly with a regional carrier vs a broker for short regional routes?

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18 pts

3 Comments

Regional freight & trucking · 12 yrs · 1 hour, 51 minutes ago

Marcus from Greenleaf — great question and one we hear a lot. For short regional routes (sub-300 miles, 2x/week frequency), you'll almost always save 15-25% going direct vs a broker, because the broker is adding their margin on top of what we'd quote you anyway. The bigger win is consistency — same driver, same rates, no surprise surcharges. We do fixed monthly contracts for customers doing regular routes. Happy to do a free cost comparison against your last 3 broker invoices if you want to send them over.

Hardware retail · 11 yrs · 1 hour, 51 minutes ago

That's actually a really compelling offer. I'll dig up the last 3 invoices. The inconsistency in pricing has been driving me crazy.

Trucking operator · 14 yrs · 1 hour, 51 minutes ago

We went direct with a regional carrier 2 years ago and never looked back. The broker was convenient at first but the margin stacking was real. For regional fixed routes, direct is the way to go.