Many new truckers start their businesses by looking for loads on line. Load boards have advantages because they let you find loads quickly and effectively. It’s an easy way to get the business rolling. Since new truckers often have tight budgets, using a free service is a good way to get some loads and save some money.
Most of these boards include TL and LTL loads. Most boards are updated regularly as shippers post loads for containerized, reefer, flatbed, and dry box freight. To learn more about load boards, read this article.
Note: we are not a load board and do not provide loads. The list below has companies that do provide loads.
Free load boards
Here is a list of free load boards. As far as we could tell, none of these load boards charges a fee for its services at the time of this writing:
Brokers/shippers with free load boards
Here is a list of 29 freight brokers combined with a few direct shippers. These can be great resources to check regularly:
Load boards that have free trial memberships
Additionally, we are including a list of load boards that offer free trial memberships. They allow you to try the service for free, for a limited time, and determine if they are a good fit for your trucking business.
Are free load boards worth it?
Many owner-operators ask themselves if load boards are worth it for truckers. This question is difficult to answer. Load boards certainly have some value as a tool to get your business started and get things moving. They are easy to use and relatively inexpensive.
However, they are not the best tools for finding truck loads in the long term, especially high-paying loads. Furthermore, many free boards don’t have some useful features that are included in paid boards. Remember that you get exactly what you pay for.
One alternative to consider is signing up for free trials on a few paid boards. Compare them against the value that you get from free boards and determine which one is best for you and your business.
Keep in mind that most free boards get their loads through a sharing service. Therefore, there is often overlap, as many load boards post the same loads. You will find that loads for popular lanes are extremely competitive and pay very little.
On the other hand, a number of paid boards get loads that are exclusive to their service. There is less competition for these loads because fewer truckers use paid boards. However, keep in mind that all loads from load boards are very competitive.
Finance slow-paying loads
One of the challenges of operating a trucking carrier is dealing with shippers and brokers that don’t offer quick-pays. Slow-paying loads can affect your ability to run and grow your business. You can improve your cash flow by financing freight loads. This financing helps you pay for fuel, repairs, and other expenses.
You can get an instant quote by filling out this form or calling us toll-free at (877) 300 3258.
Additional resources
These resources may also help you if you are looking for loads:
Note: We are publishing this list of load boards for informational purposes only; we are not making a recommendation.
Marco Terry is the Managing Director of Commercial Capital LLC and has over two decades of experience in asset-based finance. He has worked with small and mid-sized companies across the United States, Canada, and Australia. Marco holds a Master of Science in Finance.