Freight volumes are on the rise in much of the country, as the winter slow season eases into the rear view in many areas. With business picking up across the trucking industry, carriers are looking for every advantage to improve their efficiency during the fast-paced freight season.
More and more carriers are getting a leg up on the competition by using the new, web-based version of DAT Power.
Work Faster
“This makes [other load boards] look like a child designed it,” says Brian Stone of Stone’s Trucking LLC, a seven-truck operation in Hamlin, WV. "It’s just so much easier to use."
Incorporating the same cutting edge web technology that Google, Facebook, and Twitter use to produce fast and accurate results, DAT Power is the first-ever "live" load board. Where other load boards charge extra for a 20-second refresh, loads posted on DAT Power appear in real time and are updated instantaneously.
"I've been on the phone with brokers and watched my load go off the load board the minute I told them that I wanted it," explains Stone. "So yeah, it's fast."
Work More Efficiently
Using emPower technology, the load board learns how you work, letting you post trucks and search loads with fewer keystrokes.
"I like the simplicity, how everything is right there when you need it," says Stephanie Whitford, Dispatch Manager at DES Freight Services in Sacramento. "You don’t have to go hunt and search for any of the buttons you need."
From a single screen, you can monitor multiple load searches and use the filter panel to refine results automatically without having to start a new search. You can easily reverse the order of your search destination and origin to find loads going the other way, search only loads from companies saved in your favorites, or weed out loads from companies on your blocked list.
"It’s more user friendly," confirms Shawn Gillespie, Director of Truckload Operations at Pinnacle Freight Systems Inc. in Edison, NJ. "It’s easy to go back and modify a search."
Negotiate With 'Power'
Gillespie uses DAT Power to get the most from Pinnacle's 50-truck fleet.
"At the start of the day, I open Hot Market Maps to see where the trucks are and where the loads are," says Gillespie.
"I check the load-to-truck ratio – I want to know if I’m sending my trucks somewhere where they can find a return load," he explains. "It also helps me get an idea of what the rates will be like. I want to know if I’ll be in a position of power when negotiating."
Freightliner’s Team Run Smart is partnering with DAT to offer a special on the TruckersEdge load board to its members. Sign up for TruckersEdge today and get your first 30 days free by signing up at www.truckersedge.net/promo717 or entering “promo717” during sign up.
*This offer is available to new TruckersEdge subscribers only.
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