A load board provides a series of services to the trucking community. It is the entrance to an online network of trucking resources, the simplest of which is the posting of loads to ship and trucks needing cargo. This simple and original premise of a place to find carriers and loads, a place to find work, has been expanded over time to include all the tools and technologies necessary for planning and overseeing a successful trip.
The most important service a load board offers is access to information. This information, including ratings for trucking lanes, locations for support services and truck stops, automatic matching for trucks and loads, backhaul planning, accurate mileage reports, weather and road condition reports, and credit information for freight holders among other things, is designed provide as comprehensive a set of tools for trip planning as possible. Load boards are about getting the information together, making it accessible, and providing the tools to use it effectively. One of the most recent additions to load boards is the ability to use their services from a cell phone as well as via the internet. This makes it possible for a trucker to get vital information from a much wider geographic area, without needing to stop and find or pay for wi-fi along the road. Without load boards, a trucker’s world would be a lot smaller.