All About Free Load Posting Sites and How To Post Loads for Free

1) What are they? 

Quite simply, they are giant online bulletin boards. Truckers and carriers search these boards for loads, both full and LTL, to line up backhauls or to fill otherwise empty trucks.

On the other end, brokers, shippers and intermediaries go to the sites and enter load information, (often for Free!) along with their contact information. The searching carriers will call the contact phone number if they want the posted load. From there the carrier or trucker and shipper or freight load broker conduct business as usual.

Moving just a few more freight loads can make a big difference in your bottom line, so access to more carriers gives you more opportunity to cover loads quickly.

There are dozens of different sites, many with specialties. Most sites are general use, covering the standard van, flat and reefer loads, as well as more specialized equipment types.

Whatever your needs or specialty, Internet load boards (also called Internet posting sites, or online freight matching services) can help you cover more loads, and most of them offer free load posting.

2) What type of information do I have to enter? 

The most common required items are; the origin and destination city/states, pickup date, suitable equipment types, and if it is full or partial load. Most load boards will accept more information, like; delivery date, mileage, rate, etc., some sites allow more detail than others. Almost all have a comment field to note special requirements. Additionally, you have to enter your contact name and phone number, so carriers can respond to your posted load. A typical load posting might look like this to a carrier searching a load board:

Translation: A Full Load for a Flatbed or Step Deck from Seattle, WA to Oakland, CA with a pick up date of June 12th, 2019; call ABC Brokers at 1-800-555-1234. Tarps are required for this load.

3) How do I get started? 

Most sites require an account to post your loads, even if the account is free. Usually you can register online and start posting immediately. Some load boards will require you submit an application prior to posting.

Pick one or two sites first and try it out, but remember each site is different. Don't be put off by searching fees, subscriptions and additional feature charges. Many sites make money by charging their members to search, or by providing automatic load matching and other services. Often these are geared to the carriers that you want to reach. Look past all that for a "Brokers Post for Free" link, often near the bottom of the page, or go through the sign up process and look for the "Free Posting-Only Account" option.

Every site is different, and some may require a bit more searching about than others.