One of the main concerns of the trucking business is finding shipments each week. You may have contracts that provide regular shipments, but if you’re looking for additional work or need to fill in gaps between jobs or sudden cancellations, finding that next load can be challenging.
One struggle trucking companies often face is that their usual networks for finding loads can slow down or disappear with business closures or slow seasons. What you need to help you find loads to haul is a checklist strategy and access to a load board. There are many load board options out there, but they’re not all the same, nor do they value the drivers in the same way. Here are five tips for finding suitable truck loads on a load board that helps you maximize your profits while being treated fairly and professionally.
Accurate Specs and Dimensions
A professional driver needs to know the exact measurements and weight for shipments before arriving to load up the equipment or machines. Having inaccurate information can result in a driver showing up with a trailer that is unsuitable for hauling the load or does not meet the regulations for shipping a particular load. Both the driver and customer can avoid this confusion by getting the correct details in the first place.
When working one-on-one with a customer, there can be some guesswork involved or additional research on the driver’s part to understand what needs shipping. When you use a reliable load board, such as Trusted Dispatch, we take care of the specs measurements for you. We offer a powerful Specs Tool for our customers to use to find the details of their equipment. We also guide them to other useful resources to find particular models and measurements. For older models or trickier shipments, we get resourceful and ensure we can be as accurate as possible before publishing the load for drivers to view. Our goal is to make load matching straightforward for the drivers who use our system.
Matching Loads and Trucks
Trucking companies easily match loads and trucks with our industry-leading software that categorizes loads based on the dimensions entered. Load posts are sorted by size and weight and the axel requirements to find the right shipment for your equipment. Trusted Dispatch specializes in heavy hauling shipments, so if you have the right trailer to ship heavy machinery for the agricultural, mining, oil, and gas, or construction industries, then we are the right load board for you.
Fair Rates
Trucking drivers want and deserve fair raters, whether hauling regular shipments for a contracted company or shipping a one-time load for a farmer. In the trucking industry, the topic of a reasonable rate can sometimes feel complicated when working directly with the customer or through a broker. Customers often try to negotiate a discounted rate, and brokers may not be transparent about which portion of the fee they keep. Using the Trusted Dispatch load board makes the topic of fair rates transparent and straightforward. Customers know exactly how their rate is calculated while assuring that their load will be transported successfully by a professional driver. Fair rates and professionalism offer peace of mind to both the customer and the driver.
Mobile App
The ideal load board will have multiple options for using its system. Most load board companies will have a website or their software that connects drivers and loads. Since you’re often on the move, finding a load board with a mobile app makes it easier to view load posts regardless of where you are. The next time you’re on the road and a shipment falls through, or you have an available backhaul, using a load board can help you maximize your profit on the road while making a customer happy.
No Brokers or Middlemen
Some truckers prefer to work with a shipping broker, while many prefer not. The challenge of working with a broker is that you don’t get to have direct contact with the customer to offer helpful advice for preparing the load and other important factors involved in shipping their freight. When working with a broker, all communication gets filtered through them. Using a broker can require additional time and costs for their services. It’s preferable for drivers to either work directly with a customer or use a load board that makes the connection and payment details a breeze but puts the driver in contact with the customer for those specific details that need working out.
Use the Best Trucking Load Board in North America
You can stop relying on word of mouth and shipping brokers when you start using Trusted Dispatch as your source for heavy hauls. We are an online digital load board that connects customers and professional drivers to get more heavy loads shipped, and drivers paid.
