It is no secret that I like to use Truckstop and DAT, along with apps like Uber Freight and Convoy, to fill in some of the gaps between my trucks’ regular freight each week. When using boards like DAT or Truckstop though, it is important to learn to read “between the lines” so-to-speak. For instance you may have cases of intentional deceptive posting or even duplicate postings, or what I call a “double take”, of the same load from different brokerages. Learning to weed through these types of speed bumps can help you save valuable time not having to waste it making unnecessary calls.
You may wonder exactly what I mean when I refer to deceptive postings. Well, it didn’t take me long when first using load boards to learn that there are certain places that are “less than desirable” to send a truck. The brokers that are posting know this too, so sometimes they will disguise the actual origin or destination cities with more desirable cities nearby that may fish more calls on the load. It is also common for them to post the same load 5 or 6 times with nothing but nearby cities, or sometimes not so nearby cities, just to try to land a carrier for these more undesirable lanes. The one that sticks out recently was a local I called on from Compton, CA to Ontario, CA (posted origin and destination), in which the broker ended up arguing with me after he insisted San Diego, CA to Barstow, CA (actual origin and destination) was not too far off from his original posting and commanded the same rate! You can learn quickly through watching exactly which brokerages are notorious for this and if you’re an avid load board user reading this article of mine, you probably know who the top culprits that I’m speaking of are already!
Duplicate postings, or as I like to call them “double take” postings, are another time-waster to watch out for. The first thing I think of when I see these types of postings is that multiple brokers saw the same load come up and are now entering into a bidding war to get it. Usually it is either that or the fact that the load has already been landed and is now being double-brokered using the load board. The screenshots I have pictured here (above) show just this type of situation. As you can see the details for each load seem to be a carbon copy of each other, with the exception that one broker has actually entered their offered rate, while the other is fishing for someone to “insert their foot in mouth” with an offer. I typically steer clear of posts like these because it typically means to me that a broker posting it hasn’t even truly landed it yet, or it is being double-brokered by one of the posting brokerages. To each his own, but I don’t even like dealing with brokerages that partake in either of these two types of scenarios!
Although some people think using a load board is as simple as “click and call”, properly utilizing them as a productive tool takes practice. Just as carriers are out to compete for the fairest rate on these loads, brokers likewise are out to capitalize on maximizing their profits. Sometimes this profit maximization can lead some brokers to go over to “The Dark Side” and cause them to muck up the efficiency of what modern digital load boards have aimed at perfecting. As streamline and easy-to-use as modern load boards are compared to how things were done just 20 years ago, there is always a need to weed out the bad apples in all of the postings. In a sea of loads that come through each day, make sure you are not wasting time with snagging baitfish in your quest for the ultimate trophy fish!