Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/55313
Smart Driving Load search Online boards provide tools for turning greater profits if you do your homework N ew owner-operator Jay Proctor relies on online trucking load boards to find most of the freight he carries with his truck, hotshot flatbed trailer and 53-foot box van. After months of struggling to find well-paying hauls, he says he's found the "in- ner circle" of sources that can tap into the top lanes and loads that pay top rates. "We can make more money than we have been making," says Proctor, who last year obtained authority for his P3 Trucking Inc. Team drivers Stan Blom and Kerry Rodman work with steady shippers from their Des Moines, Iowa-area base and tap into load boards when they need to find back hauls. Board customers since 1999, they are selective on what loads they'll consider because they follow a tight schedule. BOARD TIPS Better-paying loads are often posted earlier in the day and in the week. "The early bird absolutely catches the worm," says Eileen Hart, assistant vice president of marketing and product management at TransCore. "A majority of fresh, new, hot loads is early in the morning. Between 4 and 6:30 [a.m.] West Coast time, a significant number of loads are posted and moved." Usage is often heaviest early in the week, when operators seek to be under load, and later in the week, when some operators maneuver to get home, says Mark Montague, 12 | TRUCKERS NEWS | MARCH 2012 by MAX KVIDERA As these examples illustrate, using load boards can help you turn a profit if you know what to look for among thousands of listings. Used as a tool for securing freight, boards can be a "virtual partner," says Ken Harper, senior marketing manager at TransCore. For an owner-operator or a small fleet, the load board can serve many of the same functions that a large fleet employs in-house. "If you use a load board only when you're desperate, you need to be rethink- ing what you're doing," he says. David Schrader, senior vice president of operations at Trans- TransCore industry pricing analyst. An operator also can use a load board service to maximize revenue by employ- ing a tri-haul strategy, Montague says. Instead of taking a high-paying load from Chicago or Memphis to the East Coast where outbound hauls are fewer and pay less, an operator might be better off ignoring the East Coast run and angling for freight to Ohio, looking for one or two return loads back to his or her base. Getloaded's Fergus Caldicott says the site's Match My Truck feature finds loads nationally that fit within an operator's parameters. The user can narrow down the entire list to specific cities or regions. Operators who use TransCore's TriHaul Trucking Report and Truckload Rate Index can help operators increase revenue with inor- mation on breaking a single low rate back haul into two or more legs. In this Dec. 28 example, a trucker could raise revenue by 86 percent by adding Wheel- ing, W.V., to the return trip, according to TransCore. Load boards, such as Getloaded.com, offer extensive information on available hauls from various locations, based on rate comparisons and trailer types. Core, says a firm survey of carriers that used load boards for 30 per- cent to 60 percent of their freight revealed they earned $1,378 more per truck each month than haul- ers who don't use boards. Load boards can be effective for various types of haulers, says Fer- gus Caldicott, general manager at Getloaded.com. They can work for an operator who has steady hauls and needs to supplement them with back hauls, as well as for a more frequent user who wants diversity in what, where and when loads are needed. "We have data that suggest that the spot rate is higher than the contract rate," he says, and that is COURTESY OF TRANSCORE COURTESY GETLOADED.COM