5 Ways to Find Loads for Your Trucking Business
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Whether you’re an independent owner-operator or running a large fleet, actively connecting with shippers and finding loads is an essential part of your day-to-day. The best approach? Tackle the challenge of how to get clients for your trucking business from multiple angles. Below, we cover five key tactics for how to get loads for trucks so that your business can thrive now and in the future.
1. Find Opportunities With a Load Board
Load boards are online marketplaces that empower you to search for suitable loads and quickly connect with shippers and brokers. Since they’re so much faster than the physical billboards of the past, internet-based load boards completely reinvented the process of ​​how to find loads for trucks. Search parameters include the weight, size, and type of cargo, the current location and destination of the load, and other info.
2. Consider Hiring a Freight Broker
If you’re dealing with an entire fleet, you may want a little assistance. In terms of time and effort, how to get loads for trucks looks quite different when you’re doing it for many trucks that may all be in different locations. For a fee, freight brokers connect drivers with loads and verify pickup and delivery. They can even negotiate with shippers on your behalf for better rates, although this could be a drawback if you prefer to do so yourself. At the end of the day, it’s up to you to weigh the cost of a freight broker against the benefits.
3. Get Registered as a Government Contractor
Are there other ways of how to get clients for your trucking business without paying for a service? Absolutely. A one-time payment can get you an operating authority, which gives you permission to operate as your own trucking company and connects you with guaranteed loads that only authorized truckers can carry. This is a necessity if you’re hauling cargo that’s federally regulated. You’ll also need operating authority to hire your own drivers and buy more trucks to expand your business.
4. Use a Dispatch Service to Connect With Brokers and Shippers
Dispatchers are much like freight brokers when it comes to getting loads for trucks. Like freight brokers, they’ll take a fee for their services—which include helping you build a network of contacts, sharing industry knowledge, and admin tasks such as billing, accounting, and collections.
5. Never Stop Networking
Finally, don’t forget about old-fashioned networking—it’s one of the best ways to succeed in any industry! If you’re just starting out, reach out to experienced owner-operators and fleet managers who can share with you how they got clients for their trucking business. We recommend identifying the trucking associations in your area and attending events related to the type of freight you’ll be hauling.
Learn More About How to Find Loads for your Trucking Business
Have questions about finding clients for your new trucking business? The team at International Used Truck Center is here to help you get your business up and running! Check out our guides to becoming a truck driver and women in trucking, or give us a call at 1-800-448-7825.