Dispatch / Load sourcing
Load Board in trucking
Plain-English explanation
A load board is an online marketplace where freight brokers, shippers, and carriers post available freight or available truck capacity. Brokers post loads they need covered; carriers post trucks looking for freight. The board creates a matching environment where a dispatcher can search by origin, destination, equipment type, and pickup date to find loads available right now. DAT and Truckstop (formerly Internet Truckstop) are the two largest load boards in the United States. Both charge subscription fees and provide rate data, lane history, and broker credit scoring tools in addition to load listings. Carriers access them through desktop software or mobile apps. A load board posting typically includes: - Origin city and state, destination city and state - Equipment type required (dry van, reefer, flatbed, etc.) - Weight or a weight range - Pickup date and sometimes a time window - Rate — either posted or listed as "call" - Broker name and contact information - A brief commodity description or "various" What the posting usually does not include: - The specific pickup appointment time and whether it is flexible - Accessorial terms — whether detention is authorized, what the rate is, whether there is a "no detention" clause - Payment terms — net-30, quick-pay, factoring-friendly - Whether the broker is set up with the carrier or requires a new carrier packet - Specific commodity details that affect equipment requirements (food grade, hazmat, high value, coiled steel) - Delivery appointment details and whether the consignee has dock constraints The load board posting is the opening — not the full picture. A dispatcher who calls a broker off a posting and hears a rate that sounds right still needs to review the rate confirmation before the driver moves. The broker's rate confirmation is where the actual terms live, and those terms may differ significantly from what the brief posting suggested.
Dispatch language is useful only when it turns into a clear next step: call the shipper, update the driver, confirm the appointment, send the broker packet, or add a note to the load file.
Why it matters in trucking
Load boards are how most small carriers and owner-operators find spot freight. They provide real-time market visibility across thousands of lanes simultaneously. But the speed of the load board environment — brokers competing for trucks, dispatchers competing for loads — creates pressure to book quickly. Carriers who skip the rate confirmation review, do not check the broker's payment history, or do not confirm key details like appointment times and accessorial terms before dispatch frequently encounter problems that the posting gave no indication of.
A good dispatch note saves time later because billing, safety, and customer service can see what was promised, changed, or approved while the truck was moving.
Example in real use
A dispatcher searches the board and finds a dry van load from Harrisburg to Raleigh, 520 miles, posting at $2.15 per mile. The dispatcher calls the broker, confirms the lane and rate, and asks about appointment times and detention terms. The broker sends the rate confirmation. The dispatcher reviews it: pickup is 8:00 a.m. tomorrow, detention at $50/hour after 2 hours, net-30 payment. Setup was completed with this broker last month. The driver is dispatched. The posted rate was accurate and the terms were workable — but all of that was confirmed off the rate confirmation, not assumed from the posting.
How to treat a posted load
A load board post is a lead, not the agreement. Posts can be stale, incomplete, or shortened to fit the board. The pickup time, delivery appointment, weight, commodity, equipment note, and accessorial rules may change once the dispatcher talks to the broker.
A good dispatcher uses the board to start the call, then rebuilds the load from verified details. The final decision should be based on the broker confirmation, not on a screenshot of the original post.
Before saying yes
- Broker identity, credit or setup status, and payment terms.
- Exact pickup and delivery times, commodity, weight, and equipment.
- Rate, fuel, detention, lumper, layover, and driver-assist language.
- Deadhead, reload market, and whether the confirmation matches the post.
Where it shows up
Load boards show possible freight, not finished agreements. A good dispatcher treats the post as a lead until the broker confirms details and sends the rate confirmation.
What to check first
- Broker identity, pickup and delivery windows, commodity, weight, and equipment.
- Rate, accessorial language, fuel treatment, and payment terms.
- Broker setup, credit, or carrier approval before dispatch.
- Differences between the post and the signed confirmation.
Common mistakes or confusion
- Treating the posted rate as the final agreed rate before a signed rate confirmation arrives — brokers can change the rate between a verbal agreement and the written confirmation, and the written document is what controls.
- Dispatching from the load board posting alone without confirming appointment windows, weight, commodity, and accessorial terms — the posting is a summary; the rate confirmation contains the actual terms the carrier is agreeing to.
- Deferring broker credit or setup verification until the driver is already heading to pickup — if the broker is not set up with the carrier, the load cannot move until setup is complete, and the driver may lose the load to another truck while paperwork is being processed.
Related terms
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Last updated: 2026-05-10