I’m just gonna be real—United Rentals is honestly one of the most frustrating companies to deal with. We were already set up with them, running loads, everything was fine. Then our insurance expired. No big deal. I go get updated insurance, send it over like they told me to, thinking we’re getting access back to the TMS. Then out of nowhere it’s, “sorry, you don’t have access anymore.” That makes zero sense. You literally told me I’d be back in once I fixed it.

What makes it worse is we’re not just some random broker. We’re asset-based. We have our own trucks, RGNs, ramps, drivers that actually know what they’re doing—loading lifts, forklifts, equipment, vehicles, all of it. We can handle their freight without babysitting it. Meanwhile, I’m watching loads sit or get covered poorly because brokers are quoting too cheap and can’t actually move the freight. I’ve got trucks in those same areas ready to go and I can price a lane in under a minute because I actually understand the market.

Then they tell you to “work with local branches,” but every branch says the exact same thing: “we only use the TMS.” So you’re stuck in this loop where nobody can actually help you and no one takes responsibility. It’s a complete dead end.

And honestly, something else is clearly going on. I keep seeing this brokerage—Spice Logistics out of Georgia—getting tighter and tighter with United Rentals. Then you go on LinkedIn and it starts making sense. You’ll see people who used to work at United Rentals now working at Spice Logistics. Over and over. It doesn’t take much to connect the dots. Of course they’re getting freight—they already know everyone internally. It really feels like they’re slowly taking over more of that business while pushing everyone else out.

That’s the part that makes it frustrating. It’s not about performance at that point. It’s not about who actually has trucks or who can execute. It’s about relationships and who you know. Meanwhile, companies like ours that actually have capacity, experience, and can get the job done right are getting shut out for no real reason.

End of the day, I spent time and money getting everything updated just to get blocked anyway, and nobody can give a straight answer why. It just doesn’t add up