Do you run a trucking business and you are wondering what type of load board is best? If YES, here are 10 best trucking load boards.
Freight load boards are becoming a great value online system for carriers, shippers and freight brokers these days. Before the advent of these new online matching systems, a load board was more or less a blackboard hanging from a dispatcher’s office wall containing a list of loads and truck driver’s names.
By introducing online technology to the trucking industry, a revolution happened and online load boards were invented and leveraged by motor carriers across North America for the first time which resulted in a huge growth in the online load board market.
It didn’t take much time for this new technology to become very popular in the trucking industry and now the number of online matching systems available in the internet are enough to make anyone overwhelmed when you want to choose one of them.
Freight load boards work as an online matching system to help shippers and freight brokers posting loads or finding the most reputable carriers, negotiating with them and making an agreement to move freight.
By leveraging a freight load board application, shippers and freight brokers can get in touch with carriers and use the options provided in the freight load board to find loads, review the credit information or days to pay, see the messages, make notes for sending to the shippers or carriers, issue factors to get approval for finances, etc.
Have it in mind that drivers are now able to cut down on time through load board systems, and if you can master it, it can save you a lot of money in the end. With a lot of brands popping up to help drivers with their daily needs, especially independent contractors, here is a list of boards perfect for owner operators.
Best Trucking Load Board
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123loadboard
123loadboard posts more than 52 million loads annually and has served in excess of 625,000 users. Features include searching loads by city or province, load search based on GPS in list and map view, real time load alerts, and find back-hauls from anywhere.
In addition to this, you can also call loads directly from the app and save companies as your favorites. 123Loadboard also offers a free 10-day trial and is priced at $35 per month thereafter for the standard load board. Premium plan is priced at $45 and the premium plus plan is $55 per month.
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TruckersEdge
Well renowned for having the most available loads in a vast database across DAT Solutions, DAT TruckersEdge follows industry trends and top carriers for the best freight rates. The company also offers a free demo before purchase for those who want to get acclimated.
Boasting of over 600,000 truckers using the log system daily, many owner operators stick with DAT because the interface is a breeze. There are three different plans for TruckersEdge; Standard, Enhanced, and Professional, and its compatibility with the KeepTruckin’s ELD log system makes it an industry favorite.
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Comfreight
Comfreight is a low-cost but viable load board that gets the job done for truckers. It offers Freight match in an open marketplace or creates a private load booking experience for drivers and owner operators with instant payments.
Note that its features include loads search by State or Province in the US and Canada, manage same day freight pay from anywhere, get updates on payment status, photograph and digitize backup documents, automate all your invoicing, and many more. Comfreight offers a 15-day free trial and is priced at as low as $19 per month thereafter.
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TruckStop.com
Well renowned as a top load board, it offers a free 1-month demo for access to its log system; TruckStop.com equips drivers with a wide range of ELD services for every type of truck and trailer, from reefer to heavy haul, making it especially easy for owner operators to keep track of their business.
Providing three separate systems for Carriers, Shippers, and Brokers, an overarching network connects everyone with an easy-to-use ELD Marketplace. Have it in mind that this marketplace allows carriers to compare rates and performance history on brokers, and offers high efficiency for sellers with access to a third-party logistics network.
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Getloaded
Getloaded has recently merged into DAT Solutions, joining the industry’s leading load boards into a single network with greater capacity and load volume for van, refrigerated, flatbed, and specialty freight.
Getloaded users presently can access 400 percent more loads on DAT’s mobile load board app connecting truckers anywhere they work. Prior to this, Getloaded and DAT-which includes DAT TruckersEdge, DAT Power, DAT Edge, and OOIDA’s MembersEdge had operated with independent databases.
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NextLOAD Board
Understanding that budgets are meant to be kept at a minimum for owner operators, NextLOAD is a free-of-charge load board designed for drivers to find freight and broker shipper loads 100% free.
Have it in mind that the company requires credit card information for credit checks, ensuring that everyone who uses the simple interface is at least somewhat reliable, but there are never any promotional periods, so you’ll always receive this product for free.
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Loadup
Loadup is an efficient load board service available for free upon registration on their website. As a member you will be entitled to unlimited access to all loads posted, you deal directly with the shipper or broker (No bidding, auctions, or commissions payable).
Extra features include free posting of loads and trucks, courier or haulier directory listing, email alerts of any new loads, etc.
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DirectFreight
Founded in 1997, Direct Freight has one of the biggest log databases available, and has been in the online load board systems industry since the dawn of the internet.
Boasting of a professional support team who always knows what they are doing, the company offers a simple app and online system that showcases over 300K daily loads, and growing – owner-operators interested in posting can have access to a forever-free account, while those wanting to search the database must pay for a single-type plan that costs $39.
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Trucker Path
Trucker Path is a free load board quite popular with owner operators due to its fast sign-up, and its showcase of about 150,000+ daily load posts. Mentioned in FleetOwner, Transport Topics, Commercial Carrier Journal, and Overdrive, the load board has gotten a lot of reputable attention in the community.
Also home to a quickly growing membership of 100,000+ carriers and offering choices between over a dozen trailer types, this is a wonderful opportunity for flatbed, dry van, and reefer drivers looking to practice data logging before joining larger networks.
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MembersEdge
Very popular with owner operators looking to take advantage of the DAT network on the road without paying as much for TruckersEdge, DAT MembersEdge is an exclusive app-only system and is the official board for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.
Owing to this, almost 1 million loads are posted a day, each relevant to what you are looking for, and a low month-to-month subscription of $32 makes the whole package worth it. Online freight load boards are the best solutions for connecting carriers with the shippers and freight brokers to create mutually beneficial shipping relationships and grow their business.
While load boards can be a quick and effective way to find loads, the number of load boards available online can be overwhelming. When choosing a new load board, you should be making your decision based on what’s within your budget and the features you need most.