Glossary · Tech & Telematics
Load Board.
Online marketplace where freight brokers post loads and carriers find freight; major platforms: DAT, Truckstop, 123Loadboard.
What it is
A load board is an online marketplace for freight. Brokers post available loads — lane, weight, rate, pickup and delivery dates — and carriers search the listings by lane, equipment type, and weight. The US spot-market freight economy is dominated by load board activity, with the major boards running tens of thousands of postings per day in normal markets.
The major US load boards are DAT (the largest, $40–$200 per month subscription depending on tier), Truckstop ($40–$200 per month), 123Loadboard, and Trucker Path Pro. Posting loads requires FMCSA broker authority — carriers cannot broker loads to other carriers without separate broker authority, which is a common compliance trap for growing fleets. Mobile apps are standard across all platforms. Some load boards integrate factoring directly (Truckstop Go Capital is native to Truckstop's board), and rate visibility — average lane rates, historical pricing — varies meaningfully by platform.
Why it matters for trucking finance
Load board mastery is one of the most important skills for spot-market owner-operators: selecting profitable loads, negotiating rates, building direct broker relationships over time. Lender underwriting for owner-operators sometimes uses load board activity as a signal of operational engagement, particularly for first-time financing applicants without a long broker history.
Factoring company partnerships with load boards (Truckstop, others) reduce friction in invoice submission and shorten time-to-funding. The strategic risk on load boards is over-reliance: a carrier running 80% of revenue through a single board faces rate-volatility exposure when that platform's spot market softens. Diversification across DAT, Truckstop, and direct broker relationships smooths revenue across rate cycles.
Related terms
- TMS — Transportation Management System — software platform for managing trucking operations (dispatch, billing, document management, settlements, compliance).
- Dispatch Software — Software for assigning loads to trucks, tracking shipments, and communicating with drivers; subset of TMS but available as standalone for smaller fleets.
- Dispatch Fee — Percentage of revenue paid to a dispatch service (often 5–10%) for finding loads, negotiating rates, and handling broker relationships.
- Accessorial Charges — Additional fees on a freight bill beyond the base line-haul rate — detention, lumper, layover, fuel surcharge, tolls, etc.
Related Dispatched products
Ready to qualify?
The vocabulary above is the upper-funnel layer. If you are ready to move on financing, factoring, or insurance, start the matching flow — soft pull, no credit impact to begin.