Hey Y'all!

As I sit here discouraged at how bad reefer rates are for this time of year, I'm thinking about giving the DAT load board a try. They claim to have 30% more loads and that they get the postings before internet truckstop.

Any information would be appreciated!

Thanks!!!

-scott

 

I use Truckers Edge,powered by dat

lately I have seen fewer loads posted,especially last weekend.
Most of the time you don`t see any rates with the load posting.
I was thinking of giving IT a try.

 

I still subscribe to mymembersedge, which is OOIDA's version of DAT. DAT has several different load boards under different names. I rarely use any load board. Mymembersedge is the only one that I still subscribe. If you are a member of OOIDA, they offer a discount. It is supposed to be the same loadboard as the regular DAT board. At one time, I subscribed to a couple of other loadboards, Internettruckstop and getloaded. If you subscribe to DAT through OOIDA, you could save money. Rates have been soft lately. I don't know if one of the DAT boards really have more loads posted than any of the other loadboards. I seem to do better with my personal contacts. But, at one time I did use loadboards a lot. Sometimes, you need to be a little more creative to find the decent paying freight. I would think that this time of year that reefers would be pretty busy. But, like other types of freight, there is much competition for loads. Subscribing to one or more loadboards is a small investment. You might do well with them. Just being able to post your truck availability is worth something. None of them require a long term commitment. You can try them for a couple of months and then cancel your subscription if they don't work out for you.

 

While I'm not an O/O, take what I say with a grain of salt if you'd like the smart man/business owner would not be sitting on just 1 load board. Spread your search across multiple ones as GMAN said. Have you thought of leasing on somewhere? My neighbor is with Landstar and loves it, he normally pulls a dry van. Another neighbor is also with them and he loves it too, he's gone a lot though, his choice, but he loves being with them. They get the loads no problem from what I understand.

 

It's funny that Mr.Ford mentioned Landstar. I spoke with 2 guys today that are leased on with Landstar, and they both love it there.

 

Instead of load boards why not pick up the phone and get your own customers?

 

One reason rates are low is due to more hands being in the pot. There is more double brokering going on today and there is no end in sight. Some prefer to call them 3rd party logistics companies. It is still double brokering. Having your own customers can be a way to cut out some of the double brokering, but you must be able to service the accounts. You may also need to carry the receivables or use a lending source, such as a factor. There is some duplication of loads on the different loadboards. One may have more LTL freight and there can be differences between loadboards as to the available freight in a particular region or freight lane. That is one reason to use multiple loadboards, at least starting out. I paid for three loadboards for much longer than I really needed. But, the loadboards can be a good tool, especially starting out.

I keep a list of shippers and brokers that I utilize. I prefer doing business with those whom I am currently doing business, when possible. Some brokers are helpful in working with you to get a reload on the other end. It really helps to build personal relationships, whether with a broker or shipper.