Drivers need to drive to make money. When a trucker is behind the wheel it is not a 40-hour work week. You are not spending time enjoying a Friday afternoon knowing you have nothing but family and free choice with what you want to do. A carrier only makes a living when the wheels are turning. Whether you are a salary or paid per mile driver or run under your own MC number, when the rubber hit’s the road is where your paycheck resides.
In the scope of time spent finding loads a driver is off the road and the clock on getting paid is ticking down. This is the perfect recipe to create panic in a driver and easily allow them to feel like they need to take any load available.
Searching the load boards, for many drivers, is where they find the next load and they are navigating the online spot market to get moving. This is when fear meets spot market rates and drivers end up taking low paying freight for 3 main reasons.
#1 The more time spent scouring a load board for a haul that works for their location and equipment type creates increased anxiety and the driver only looks at loads with a rate listed on the board.
#2 The carrier calls on loads with rates listed or not and is not comfortable with enough market knowledge or negotiation skills to know what the DRIVER should be asking for on rate. This leads to a carrier possibly taking lower paying loads or loads where they could have gotten more money.
#3 The onboarding ‘paperwork’ with a new broker is time consuming and at times frustrating and leads a driver to become exhausted with the process.
The above three steps in using load boards to get your paycheck means you may spend (on average) 13 hours a week just finding the money instead of actually making money. When a carrier entrusts a qualified dispatcher they are able to keep driving under a load while the next load is negotiated and rate confirmation signed before delivery.
A dedicated truck dispatcher doesn’t just know how to steer through the spot market and negotiate great freight, but allows every trucker to keep focused on the wheels moving. A dispatcher is a fierce advocate in the corner of the carrier and ensures the truck is making money week after week. And, of course, when the driver is settled down for ‘home time’, they can do it with the peace of mind that there’s no need to worry about where the next load is coming from.
Abby Barros | SUPPORT SPECIALIST
