New O-O w/ load board ?'s

We got our authority last May and used the DAT Transcore load board until October of last year. We had good results.

 

The three big load boards are
Transcore/DAT which has TruckersEdge (OOIDA members get a small discount and it's called MembersEdge but it's the exact same thing as TruckersEdge) http://www.truckersedge.net/truckersedge/home.aspx
Internet Truck Stop
Get Loaded

 

Have you ever heard of putting the cart before the horse?

 

You can not build a sustainable business off of load boards. You need to find direct freight (dealing directly with the shipper, not broker) and use load boards to fill in the gaps. An example of what I mean is you have a customer that ships from Chicago to Dallas, and another that ships from Atlanta to Cleveland. Those loads are your money loads, direct customers. You would then use load boards to fill the gaps, Dallas to Atlanta, and Cleveland to Chicago. Load board freight, in general, just does not pay enough to be your primary revenue source.

 

It's not true that 100% load board can't be a sustainable business. For a one truck operation it can be done and it's very common. There are many variables that can be decided on to affect what you want to do. All load board freight for a one truck operation is one of many possibilities. A contract with a direct shipper can add a consistent load, or inconsistent loads, or more revenue, or less revenue, or longer days to pay, or shorter days to pay. Some carriers find reefer to be more profitable than dry van. Some carriers find dry van more profitable than reefer. Many variables for each unique situation.

 

I've been under my own authority for just over 2 years, and use load boards (and brokers I've found on load boards). Can I make more doing it my own and contacting shippers/receivers directly? Sure. But, it's work I'm willing to leave to others who will take their cut. Big thing is make sure you're getting a fair rate for what you're doing.

If I had more trucks than just myself, I would probably be more apt to go after my own freight.

 

What someone can't do is act like the typical knot head trucker and survive on load boards. Well, you probably can but not make good money.

Now more than ever a quality carrier working ad hoc can do very well. More shippers want to be isolated by a big carrier contract, broker or 3PL. And more carriers are looking to develop relationships with carriers.

Learn you markets and build solid relationships.

 

BigBadBill, did you mean carriers are looking to develop relationships with carriers or was that a typo? I ask with regard to MAP-21 and broker licensing.

 

You sir are the rare exception and I applaud you for being able to make it work.
It's the other 98 percent that would be much better off leased to a good carrier. The op needs to figure out if he is one of the rare exceptions or is he one of the vast majority that will turn a lot of miles for an unsustainable rate? I don't know about the rest of you, but when a person asks a question like what are the good load boards, it tells me they have very little knowledge of the industry, which will lead to them almost certainly not be one of the rare exceptions like yourself.