The trucking industry can seem rather convoluted. Over the years several methods have been developed by truckers, brokers and shippers that connect carriers with loads. However, do you know how the industry works and, more specifically, how truckers can find the work they need to keep financially sound? Keep reading to find out more.
Freight Brokers
Freight brokers have long been the backbone of the freelance trucking industry – helping truckers to find loads and matching them with people that need things moving across the country. Freight brokers earn their keep by charging a commission. Truckers pay a percentage of their fee for the privilege of being matched up with loads efficiently and quickly. A good broker will have a network of shippers that can be called upon – meaning that truckers have a very high change of finding loads on both legs of their journey. Shippers are often wary of relying upon small scale carriers, and prefer to contact them via brokers that can assure them that their goods will be delivered. Freight brokers are facing stiff competition from shippers with in house drivers and load matching sites that don’t charge large commissions.
Load Matching Apps And Sites
A new development in the trucking industry is the emergence of apps and sites that match truckers with potential loads – cutting out the need for a dedicated broker. Trucking loads and shipping work can be found using apps and sites such as Shiply, which can be found here: https://www.shiply.com/us/truck-loads. These sites and apps make finding loads extremely easy, and tend to benefit freelance truckers that want to make the most out of outgoing and return journeys by finding loads to haul at both ends.
Load Boards
Carriers can also find jobs through public load boards. These boards tend to charge a monthly subscription fee for access and are seen as a good backup plan for small carriers that need to fill holes in their schedules.
Direct From Shippers
Truckers that can get their loads directly from shippers on a freelance basis have a great deal. They pay no commission, but get to retain their freedom to take on other jobs. Shippers sometimes choose to deal with truckers directly if they have a large quantity of work coming up.
From Long Term Contracts
A great many truckers tend to leave behind the somewhat uncertain life of a freelance hauler in favor of a more stable job working for a company that offers long term contracts. Long term contracts offered by supermarket, manufacturers and major shipping companies tend to curb the freedom enjoyed by freelance truckers, but they are great for ensuring that there will always be work to complete. In recent years, truckers working for single companies as contracted workers have been subjected to more and more on the job surveillance.
Companies want to ensure that their truckers are on time, safe and operating legally. To this end, they often install cameras and trackers on trucks in their fleet. Some truckers resent this extra surveillance, but there is evidence that it keeps the roads safer and the loads moving. Truckers that once had a job completely defined by the freedom it offered now find themselves being watched every time they enter the cab of their beloved vehicle.