What Is a Load Board?

June 9, 2025

What Is a Load Board?

Imagine spending hours just trying to find carriers to move your load while wrestling with tracking shipments, handling paperwork, and communicating properly. Without the right tools, freight brokering becomes a costly, time-draining challenge.

Thankfully, load boards exist. They make it easier for brokers to find trucks and simplify the whole shipping process. In this guide, we’ll explain how load boards work and how they can help you launch and grow your freight brokerage business.

What Is a Load Board?

A load board is an online marketplace that connects freight brokers, shippers, and carriers. It allows freight brokers to post loads and search for available trucks. Carriers and owner-operators use them to book loads that need moving.

Beyond matching loads and trucks, load boards also include features like rate estimates, credit checks, and tools for communication, booking, and tracking.

Basically, load boards make it easier for people in the freight industry to do business quickly and efficiently.

Key Features of Load Boards

The exact features will vary between platforms. However, key functionalities include:

Load posting. Brokers and shippers in the freight industry can post loads with details like pickup location, destination, load size, and delivery times.
Load and truck matching. They help match trucks with available loads that fit their routes, sizes, and schedules, making it easier to find the right carrier.
Load tracking. This allows brokers and shippers to track the progress of loads in real time. That way, they know where their cargo is and when it will arrive.
Alert features. Users can set up alerts or notifications to get updates about new loads, matched trucks, or changes in load status.
Search filters. Users can apply filters like load type, location, price, or truck size to find the loads or carriers that best meet their needs.
User profiles. All users have profiles that show their history, ratings, and reviews. This helps build trust and reduces the risks of scams. Some freight boards take things a step further by pre-vetting their user base.

Advantages of Load Boards

Load boards provide powerful benefits for brokers, carriers, and owner-operators:

They make it easy for brokers, carriers, and owner-operators to find each other quickly, saving time.
They help reduce empty miles by allowing carriers to find backhauls and nearby loads.
Some load boards give users access to real-time data. This helps them make decisions with up-to-date info.
They offer various freight options. This helps carriers find loads that suit their equipment and routes.
New brokers can use load boards to start building their carrier network without existing relationships.
Load boards help small businesses compete by giving access to the same freight opportunities and networks as larger companies.

Disadvantages of Load Boards

Load boards also have some limitations that brokers should consider:

Load boards are highly competitive. This makes it hard to secure high-paying loads, especially for new carriers.
Relying only on load boards can limit long-term business growth and relationships. Don’t over-depend on these platforms. Instead, expand your network by connecting with other players in the trucking industry at events and on social media platforms.
Some listings may be outdated or posted by unreliable brokers or carriers.
Many load boards have monthly fees that may be costly for new businesses. You can work with free load boards to reduce costs. However, they may offer fewer features.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Load Board

To select the right load board, consider the following key aspects:

Pricing. Check if the load board fits your budget and gives you the best bang for your buck.
Trial periods or demos: Look for boards that let you test their service before committing.
Ease of use. Ensure the load board has a low learning curve and is easy to use.
Real-time updates. Look for platforms that update load availability in real-time so you don’t waste time chasing old posts.
Mobile access. Choose a platform with a user-friendly mobile app so you can handle operations on the go.
Integrations with other tools. Some load boards integrate with TMS or accounting tools, which can improve your workflow.
Customer support. Find out how much support the load board offers in case you run into issues.
Extra features. Search for load boards that provide add-ons like document management, route optimization, load tracking, load factoring, and rate calculators.

Tips for Using Load Boards as a Freight Broker

Here are some tips to make load boards worth your while as a freight broker:

Set alerts for preferred lanes or equipment. This helps you catch new truck postings that match your regular routes or customer needs early.
Build relationships. After a successful shipment, stay in touch with reliable carriers. Try to convert one-time hauls into repeat business.
Vet every carrier. Always check a carrier’s authority, insurance, and safety scores. For extra safety, choose only those with positive reviews.
Watch out for scams. Use load boards that vet their users, and avoid offers that seem too good to be true.

FAQs

1. What are the top load boards in the transportation industry?

Some of the best load boards include DAT, Truckstop, and 123Loadboard. These platforms are trusted by many freight shippers, brokers, and carriers for their large networks and features.

2. Are load boards free to use or paid?

Some are free, but there are also paid load boards. Their monthly subscriptions start around $40 and can exceed thousands of dollars depending on your specific needs. Some platforms have free versions but may have limited access or fewer listings.

3. What is the difference between a load board and a freight marketplace?

A load board is mainly a listing platform for posting and finding freight. A freight marketplace often includes added services like instant booking, rate negotiation, and payment processing, creating a more complete ecosystem.

Final Thoughts

Starting out as a freight broker without the right tools can quickly become overwhelming and frustrating. But with load boards, you gain a powerful resource that simplifies finding carriers, managing loads, and staying organized.

Want to learn more? Check out our 90-Day Freight Broker Course. It covers how to:

Use load boards effectively
Vet carriers
Cover difficult lanes
Negotiate profitable deals, and much more!

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