How to Find Loads: Complete Load Board Guide

How Load Boards Work

A load board is a digital marketplace where shippers and freight brokers post available loads and carriers search for freight to haul. Think of it as the trucking industry's job board, except instead of resumes and job listings, you have trucks and shipments trying to find each other.

The basic flow works like this: a shipper needs freight moved, a broker (or the shipper directly) posts the load on a board with details like origin, destination, pickup date, weight, equipment type, and rate. You search the board for loads that match your truck, location, and preferred lanes. When you find a good match, you call or click to book it, confirm the rate and details, and haul the freight.

It sounds simple, and the mechanics are simple. What separates profitable operators from those who are constantly chasing their tail is how they evaluate loads, which boards they use, and the strategies they build around their load board activity. This guide covers all of it. If you want to jump straight to side-by-side comparisons, compare load boards on our review page.

Major Load Boards Compared

DAT Load Board

DAT is the largest and oldest load board in North America, with over 500 million loads posted annually.¹ For many carriers, DAT is synonymous with "load board." The platform offers three tiers: DAT One (starting around $50/month), DAT Authority (around $150/month), and DAT Authority Premium ($200+/month). The higher tiers include rate analytics, lane history, and broker credit data.

Strengths: Largest load volume. Best rate data and historical lane analytics. Strong mobile app. Broker credit scores on mid-tier and above.

Weaknesses: Expensive at the higher tiers. The sheer volume of loads can be overwhelming without good filtering. Rate data, while the best available, still lags real-time market conditions by a day or two.

Truckstop.com

Truckstop (formerly Internet Truckstop) is DAT's closest competitor in load volume and features.² Plans start around $35/month for basic search and go up to $150+/month for full analytics. Truckstop's broker credit reporting -- Rate Mate and their credit scoring system -- is considered by many carriers to be superior to DAT's.

Strengths: Strong broker credit and payment history data. Good mobile experience. Book It Now feature lets you book some loads instantly without calling. Rate analysis tools comparable to DAT.

Weaknesses: Slightly less total load volume than DAT on most lanes. Some features feel duplicative across pricing tiers.

123Loadboard

123Loadboard positions itself as a budget-friendly alternative. They offer a free tier with limited functionality and paid plans starting around $35/month. The platform is simpler than DAT or Truckstop, which some drivers appreciate and others find limiting.

Strengths: Free tier available. Lower cost paid plans. Clean, simple interface. Mileage and routing tools included.

Weaknesses: Significantly less load volume than DAT or Truckstop. Fewer analytics tools. Broker data is less comprehensive.

Amazon Relay

Amazon Relay is Amazon's freight platform that connects carriers directly to Amazon loads. There is no subscription fee -- you sign up, get approved, and book loads through the app. Rates are set by Amazon and are non-negotiable.

Strengths: No subscription fee. Reliable shipper. Fast payment (often within 7 days). High volume in and out of Amazon fulfillment centers. Simple booking process.

Weaknesses: Rates are non-negotiable and often below market for premium lanes. Strict appointment compliance requirements. Facility wait times can be significant. You are hauling for one shipper, which creates dependency risk.

Uber Freight

Uber Freight operates similarly to Amazon Relay -- no subscription, app-based booking, and set rates. The platform has grown significantly and now carries a wide variety of freight beyond just Uber-related shipments.

Strengths: No subscription fee. Transparent pricing. Quick booking. Expanding load volume. Early payment options available.

Weaknesses: Rates tend to lean toward the lower end of the market. Limited rate negotiation. Customer support can be slow for issue resolution.

Direct Freight

Direct Freight is a long-running free load board that provides basic load search without a subscription. It is bare-bones compared to DAT or Truckstop, but it costs nothing to use.

Strengths: Completely free. No registration hassles. Useful as a secondary search tool.

Weaknesses: Limited load volume. No broker credit data. No rate analytics. Dated interface. You get what you pay for.

Prices shown are approximate and may have changed — check each provider's website for current rates.

Free vs Paid Load Boards

The $150/month question every new owner operator asks: "Do I really need to pay for a load board when free options exist?"

Here is the honest answer. Free load boards will get you loads. You can haul freight and make money using nothing but free platforms. But paid boards give you three things that directly affect your bottom line:

More loads. DAT and Truckstop simply have more freight posted than free alternatives. More options mean you are more likely to find a load that pays well, matches your preferred lane, and picks up when you need it to.

Better data. Paid boards include rate analytics that show you what a lane has been paying over the past 15-90 days. Without this data, you are negotiating blind. When a broker offers you $2.00/mile on a lane that has been averaging $2.50, you need to know that -- and rate history tools tell you.

Broker credit scores. Paid boards let you check a broker's credit rating and payment history before you agree to haul their load. This alone can save you from a bad broker who slow-pays or does not pay at all. One non-payment on a $3,000 load wipes out two months of load board subscription costs.

If your budget is extremely tight during your first month or two, start with free boards and Amazon Relay. But plan to move to a paid board as soon as your cash flow allows. Most successful owner operators treat their load board subscription as a core business expense, not an optional one -- because it is.

How to Evaluate Loads

Finding loads is easy. Finding profitable loads is the skill that separates successful owner operators from those who are just busy. Here is how to evaluate every load before you book it.

Rate Per Mile (All-In, Not Just Linehaul)

The posted rate is only part of the equation. You need to calculate your effective rate per mile including deadhead -- the unpaid miles you drive to pick up the load.

Example: A load from Atlanta to Nashville pays $2.80/mile for 250 miles. Sounds good. But you are currently in Birmingham, which is 150 miles from the Atlanta pickup. Your total miles driven are 400 (150 deadhead + 250 loaded), and your revenue is $700 (250 x $2.80). Your effective rate is $1.75/mile -- a very different number.

Use our load profitability calculator to run these numbers before you commit. Factor in your cost per mile (fuel, truck payment, insurance, maintenance) and see whether the load actually makes money after expenses.

Deadhead Assessment

Your deadhead percentage is one of the biggest levers on your profitability. Industry averages run 12-15% deadhead miles, but top operators keep it under 10%.⁶ Every mile you drive empty is a mile that costs you fuel, tire wear, and time without generating revenue.

For strategies on keeping deadhead low, see our guide on reducing deadhead miles.

Detention Risk

Detention -- time spent waiting at a shipper or receiver beyond the free time window -- is unpaid waiting that kills your productivity. Some shippers and receivers are notorious for 4-6 hour waits. Before booking a load, check the facility reviews on DAT or Truckstop if available. A load that pays $3.00/mile but costs you 5 hours of detention at the receiver is worse than a $2.50/mile load with a 30-minute turnaround.

Broker Credit Check

Before you haul for any broker you have not worked with before, check their credit score on your load board platform. Look at:

• Credit rating (70+ out of 100 is generally acceptable)
• Days to pay (under 30 is good, under 21 is great, over 45 is a warning sign)
• Payment complaints from other carriers
• Bond status (active $75,000 surety bond required)⁴
• How long they have been in business (new MC numbers carry more risk)

Using Rate Data to Negotiate

Raw rate data is the most powerful negotiation tool you have. When a broker calls and offers $1.90/mile on a lane, and you can see on DAT that the lane has averaged $2.40 over the past two weeks, you have leverage.

Here is how to use rate data effectively:

Know your floor. Calculate your cost per mile and add your target profit margin.⁶ If your costs are $1.65/mile and you want to net $0.60/mile, your floor is $2.25. Do not haul for less unless you are repositioning to a high-demand area.

Know the lane average. Check the 7-day and 15-day average for your specific lane on DAT or Truckstop.⁵ If the average is $2.50 and the broker is offering $2.10, you have room to push.

Know the direction. Freight rates are heavily directional. Outbound from major consumption markets (like the Northeast) tends to pay less than outbound from production regions (like California produce areas or the Southeast). Understanding directional imbalances helps you plan round trips that are profitable in both directions.

For detailed tactics, see our freight rate negotiation tips.

Building Direct Shipper Relationships

Load boards are a tool, not a business strategy. The end game for every owner operator and small fleet owner should be building direct relationships with shippers -- eliminating the broker entirely and keeping the full margin.

Direct shipper freight typically pays 15-30% more than brokered freight because there is no broker taking a cut. More importantly, direct relationships give you consistent, predictable freight rather than the daily scramble of searching load boards.

How to Find Shippers

• Identify high-volume shippers on your regular lanes. If you frequently haul from a particular distribution center or manufacturing plant, that shipper needs consistent capacity. Introduce yourself to the shipping manager.
• Attend industry trade shows. Events like MATS (Mid-America Trucking Show) and regional shipper-carrier meetups create face-to-face networking opportunities.
• Cold outreach to local manufacturers and distributors. Many small-to-mid-size shippers struggle to find reliable carriers. A professional phone call or email explaining your capacity, equipment, and service area can open doors.
• Use your existing broker loads to identify shippers. Every rate confirmation shows you the shipper. After establishing a track record of on-time delivery, approach the shipper directly about a direct relationship.

What Shippers Want

Shippers do not choose carriers based on price alone. Reliability, communication, and professionalism matter enormously:

• On-time pickup and delivery -- consistently, not just when it is convenient
• Professional communication -- timely updates, responsive to calls and emails
• Clean equipment -- a truck that looks maintained signals a carrier that takes their business seriously
• Insurance and compliance -- current authority, proper insurance coverage, clean safety record
• Flexibility -- willingness to handle surge volume or last-minute loads occasionally

Build these qualities into your operation and shippers will prefer you over cheaper but unreliable alternatives.

Load Board Strategies That Work

Lane Specialization

Instead of hauling random loads in random directions, pick 3-5 lanes you know well and become an expert on them. Learn the seasonal patterns, know which brokers consistently have freight on those lanes, and build relationships with the shippers at both ends.

Lane specialization reduces deadhead because you develop backhaul knowledge. You know that when you deliver in Memphis, there is always outbound produce from the Delta region. You know that northbound out of Laredo is strong Monday through Wednesday. This knowledge compounds over time and directly increases your revenue per mile.

Backhaul Optimization

Never plan a load without thinking about the return trip. Before you book an outbound load, check what freight is available from the destination market back toward your home area or your next preferred origin.

A load that pays $2.80/mile outbound but delivers to a dead market where you deadhead 200 miles to find a return load is less profitable than a $2.50/mile load that delivers to a market with abundant backhaul options.

Seasonal Pattern Awareness

Freight volume and rates follow predictable seasonal cycles:

• Q1 (January-March): Typically the slowest period. Post-holiday demand drops, and weather disruptions make northern routes unpredictable. Rates tend to bottom out in February.
• Spring produce season (April-June): Reefer rates surge as produce harvests begin in California, Florida, Texas, and the Southeast. Dry van rates also improve as the economy ramps up.
• Summer (July-August): Generally strong and stable. Beverage, construction materials, and consumer goods drive consistent demand.
• Fall peak (September-November): Retail inventory building for the holidays drives the strongest freight market of the year. Rates peak in October and early November.
• December: Mixed. Early December stays strong, but freight falls off sharply after the 15th as shippers wind down for the holidays.

Smart operators plan their maintenance downtime, vacations, and equipment purchases around these cycles. Do not schedule a two-week truck overhaul in October when rates are at their peak.

Spot Market vs Contract Freight

The spot market -- loads posted day-to-day on load boards -- gives you flexibility but zero predictability. Contract freight -- negotiated lanes with set rates running for 6-12 months -- gives you stability but less upside when spot rates spike.

Most successful small fleet operators run a mix: 60-70% contract freight for baseline revenue, and 30-40% spot market to capture rate surges and fill gaps. Pure spot market operators ride a roller coaster of great weeks and terrible weeks. Pure contract operators leave money on the table when the market gets hot.

As you build broker and shipper relationships, aim to convert your most consistent lanes from spot to contract. A lane you have been running weekly on the spot market at $2.40/mile average might be worth locking in at $2.30/mile on a 6-month contract for the predictability alone -- especially if spot rates dip to $1.90 during the Q1 slowdown.

Building a Book of Business

Your "book of business" is the collection of broker and shipper relationships that generate consistent freight without you having to search load boards. Building this book is the single most important long-term strategy for any carrier.

Here is how to build it intentionally:

1. Track every broker you work with. Keep a spreadsheet with broker name, MC number, dispatcher contact, lanes they cover, rates they pay, and how quickly they pay. Over time, patterns emerge.
2. Identify your top 10-15 brokers. These are the ones who consistently have freight on your lanes, pay fair rates, and pay on time. Cultivate these relationships.
3. Communicate proactively. Let your top brokers know your schedule. "I will be empty in Dallas Thursday afternoon, headed back toward Atlanta -- do you have anything?" This kind of proactive communication gets you first call on good loads.
4. Deliver flawlessly. On-time, every time. Clean POD uploaded same day. Professional communication. Brokers have a preferred carrier list, and reliability is how you get on it.
5. Gradually reduce load board dependence. As your book grows, you should need the load board less and less. The goal is a phone that rings with freight offers rather than hours spent scrolling through listings.

A well-developed book of business is worth more than any piece of equipment you own. It is the asset that generates revenue without a monthly subscription fee. Compare load boards to find the right starting platform, but always be building beyond it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is DAT or Truckstop better for owner operators?

Both platforms carry a massive volume of loads and neither has a clear overall advantage. DAT tends to have more spot market loads in most regions, while Truckstop offers stronger broker credit reporting and integrations. Many successful owner operators subscribe to both for the first few months, then keep whichever delivers more loads on their specific lanes. At roughly $150/month each, the cost of running both adds up, so most solo operators settle on one primary board plus a free or low-cost secondary option.

Can I find loads without paying for a load board?

Yes, but it limits your options significantly. Free load boards like 123Loadboard's basic tier, Direct Freight, and the Truckstop free search show available loads but with delayed data, fewer filters, and limited broker information. Amazon Relay and Uber Freight do not charge subscription fees -- you book directly through their apps. Some factoring companies also offer free load board access as a perk of their factoring program. You can start with free options, but most serious owner operators eventually move to a paid board for the better data and higher load volume.

How do I know if a broker is legitimate before hauling their load?

Check the broker's MC number in the FMCSA SAFER system to verify active authority.³ Look up their credit rating on DAT or Truckstop -- any broker rated below a 70 on a 100-point scale deserves extra scrutiny. Search for recent complaints on carrier forums. Verify their bond amount (brokers must carry a $75,000 surety bond or trust fund). Ask for references from other carriers. If a rate seems too good for the lane, or the broker pressures you to commit immediately without answering questions, walk away.

What is a good rate per mile for a dry van in 2026?

National average spot rates for dry van fluctuate between $2.00 and $3.00 per mile depending on market conditions, with the current market sitting in the $2.20-$2.60 range for most lanes. However, averages are misleading because rates vary dramatically by lane, direction, and season. A load from LA to Dallas might pay $1.80/mile while Dallas to LA pays $3.20/mile because of directional imbalance. Focus on your total revenue per mile including deadhead, not just the linehaul rate. Use rate data tools on DAT or Truckstop to see what a specific lane is actually paying.

How many loads should I look at before booking one?

Do not just grab the first load that appears on the board. For any given lane, look at 5-10 available loads to understand the current rate range. Check the rate trend for that lane over the past 7-15 days. Compare the offered rate against your cost per mile plus your target profit margin. If you are in a strong freight market or a favorable origin, be willing to wait for a better rate. If you are in a weak market or need to reposition, you may need to take a lower-paying load to get to a better area. The goal is informed decisions, not speed.