Load Boards

The Fastest Way to Find Freight

How to find loads and customers

Are you running dry van? Reefer? Flatbed? LTL or hot shot? The type of freight you want to haul is going to determine how you find customers. Big carriers have sales teams that sell their services to shippers and negotiate contracts. A trucking business that’s just starting out probably isn’t big enough to have its own sales team. That’s where freight load boards come in.

What's a Load Board?

A load board is sorta like a Craigslist for freight. Brokers and sometimes shippers advertise their available loads by posting where the load is and where it’s going. Truckers can search the lanes they run and find loads that match their business needs. Truckers can also post their available trucks so that brokers can call them about loads they need to move.

So in that way, the load board is like your sales force. And just like with any other sales force, you want the one that reaches the most potential customers.

What's the Best Load Board?

A load board gives you instant access to potential business partners. DAT offers the biggest load board in the trucking industry. In 2017, DAT and Getloaded combined networks to create one massive “super-database,” with more than 244 million loads posted in 2023. More than 84 million of those loads were posted first on DAT or nowhere else. You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to get access to the best load board, either.

DAT and Getloaded have combined two load board networks to create one massive “super-database” of loads and trucks, so no matter which DAT product you choose, you get access to the most loads in the trucking industry. Choose the product that best fits your business, depending on the size of your company and the kind of tools you’ll need. Each product also gives you access to the DAT One mobile app.

How Much Does a Load Board Cost?

DAT One Standard is made specifically for owner-operators and small carriers, and the price starts at just $49/month, which gives you access to the super-databse. For just $99/month, you can also see the average rate that other truckers have gotten paid on the lanes you search. And they have more loads than anybody else for every trailer type. Looking to get into the business by running hot shot? You can find LTL loads and partial loads too.

Load Board Pricing

from $ 49 month

You can't beat the price. DAT One Standard starts at just $49/month and gives you access to the best load board in the trucking industry right off the bat.
For Carriers & Owner-Operators
Unlimited posts and searches
Mileage and routing
Weather and road conditions
Mobile App
* If you upgrade to $99/month, you also get to see the average rates paid on every lane for the past 90 days. That lets you know what the current market prices are before you call and negotiate. The upgrade also gives you broker credit scores and lets you see the average days-to-pay for each broker, all the tools you need when you're first starting out.
* The best deal is the $149/month package. That includes lane rates based on the past 15 days. Plus, it comes with the TriHaul tool, which automatically suggests better-paying triangular routes based on what you're searching.

$ 145 month

For small startups, DAT One Express is the best load board for brokers. You get access to the same database of trucks, plus tools that are tailored to your growing business. Subscriptions cost $145/month.
For Brokers
Unlimited load posts and truck searches
Average spot market rates for every lane
Carrier safety info and qualifications
Research new carriers and read reviews
Load-to-truck ratios for every state

from $ 395 month

The Rolls-Royce of load boards. DAT One Combo gives you the most state-of-the-art tools to help your business run faster and more efficiently. Packages start at $199/month (Carrier only).
Broker/Carrier
The industry's only "live" load board: Search results appear in real time, with no need to refresh
Monitor multiple searches, filter results, and research rates, all from one screen
Audible alarm when a new match is found
DAT Insurance
Credit scores and days-to-pay
Collaboration tools: Perfect for working in teams
Mobile app for Carriers