Six Mistakes To Avoid When Using Load Boards To Find Jobs For Your Trucking Operation

When you're running a trucking operation, one of your most important jobs is to use load boards to find the best loads for your truckers to transport. The following are six mistakes to avoid when using load boards to find the best possible jobs:

Failing to precisely define searches on load boards

Most load boards have filter features that allow you to narrow down your search as much as possible. Make sure you take full advantage of the filtering capabilities of the load board. This is one of the best ways to speed up the search for the best loads for your operation.

In particular, you'll want to make sure you define the date and origin/destination fields in your searches. 

Narrowing your search down to only one state

While you want to define and narrow down your search, being too specific can be counterproductive. For one thing, you should try to search by region rather than state to avoid being too specific.

This will provide you with more possibilities and decrease the chances that your search will come up with no acceptable results. 

Neglecting to take advantage of alarm features

A lot of load boards have a special feature that allows you to set an alarm to automatically notify you of new load possibilities that suit your needs. Using this feature can help you respond quickly to new jobs and raise your chances of securing new jobs before another carrier is able to. 

Not sorting by age

A lot of loads that come up on load boards are claimed very quickly. That's why it's important to sort your search results by age. This will show you the newest loads first so that you can respond to them. 

Waiting too long to start finding a free driver a load

You don't necessarily have to wait until your driver is completely finished with a particular delivery before you start looking for another load for that driver.

If your driver is finishing a load on a given day, you can start looking for a new load early in the morning to hopefully find the driver a new load to start right after the previous one is finished. This will help minimize driver downtime. 

Getting distracted and frustrated when a broker cancels a load

It occasionally happens that a broker cancels a load. This can be a frustrating thing to deal with, but you shouldn't lose time getting distracted by it. Simply focus on moving on to the next option. 

For more information, contact companies like My Virtual Fleet.