But one-way deliveries bring the risk of a deadhead return trip. If an owner operator is behind the wheel of a truck, he or she wants to be hauling freight and getting paid. Many truckers enjoy the open road, but that doesn’t mean they want to be driving for free. Load boards have their advantages and disadvantages but are still fundamental to the industry, and are used by thousands of truckers every day. Using load boards exclusively on a long-term basis can mean sharing revenue with brokers, competing with numerous other truckers to take on loads, and possibly accepting jobs with lower-than-desired rates.

While load boards are extremely useful to owner operators, especially those just getting their business off the ground, most truckers prefer to cultivate long-term relationships with shippers and brokers, and find available loads through professional networks. Some load boards also include invoice factoring, route planning, rate comparison tools, and other useful programs for truckers. While some are free, many load boards are subscription-based. Today, there are hundreds of load boards, most of them accessible via computer or mobile app to any trucking company. In the 1990s, load boards moved online as –now called Truckstop–began posting listings on the internet.

Historically, available loads were written out on note cards and posted on bulletin boards at truck stops until the late 1970s, when Dial-a-Truck (DAT) developed monitors that displayed the information digitally. Owner operators are heavy users of load boards, and some use more than one. It also gives carriers and owner operators the chance to earn for every mile they drive and extend their networks by working with multiple shippers and brokers. The spot market allows shippers to advertise loads to a wide range of truckers so their freight can go out without delays. While some companies with large fleets of owner operators may have their own internal load boards, there is a lively “spot market” on public load boards that makes the trucking industry more efficient. They are where loads that need to be transported are advertised and a place for carriers to pick up additional loads to avoid making unpaid deadhead runs.

As the online matchmaker connecting shippers, brokers, and carriers, load boards are a cornerstone of the trucking industry.

Relay load board