CAN'T FIND LOADS
Can't find loads? Trucking companies with parked units usually have a fixable problem
A truck that sits still costs money every day: the payment, the insurance and the permits don't stop because the load board went quiet. If you can't find loads for your trucks, it's rarely bad luck. It's usually one or two specific problems, and most of them are fixable in a week or two.
UNIT 102 · LAST WEEK
- Mon
- Tue
- Wed
- Thu
- Fri
- Sat
- Sun
5 idle days. Payment, insurance and permits were due all seven.
UNIT 02
What an idle day costs you
Tap the days each truck sat. The cost is only your fixed bills, the ones due whether the truck moves or not. Lost profit comes on top.
Fuel and tolls stop when the truck stops. The payment, insurance, permits, ELD subscription, phone and any guaranteed pay for the driver don't. That's why two idle days a week can wipe out the profit from the other five. Run the same numbers for a full month and the cost of a slow stretch gets hard to ignore.
EXAMPLE A truck with a $2,600 payment, $1,300 insurance and $400 a month in permits, ELD and phone carries $4,300 in fixed bills, about $141 for every calendar day. Two idle days a week is close to nine days a month, or about $1,220 gone before you count a dollar of lost profit.
If your trucks have been sitting for weeks and the cash is running low, read our guide on why trucking companies shut down and the warning signs that show up first. Then work out your break-even rate per truck with the small fleet cost per truck calculator, so you know which loads help.
UNIT 03
Six reasons trucks sit, and the fix for each
A new MC brokers won't set up yet
Many brokers set a minimum authority age. Fix: start with the brokers that onboard new carriers, and build a record on clean, on-time loads.Carrier packets that bounce
A mismatched legal name, an insurance certificate missing the broker as holder, an unsigned form. Fix: one clean packet set, checked before it goes out.A floor rate your lanes don't pay
A minimum set in a strong market can park a truck in a soft one. Fix: set the floor from your real cost per mile, per truck, and review it monthly.A home base far from steady freight
Some areas ship lots of freight out and little in, or the reverse. Fix: plan the outbound load with the reload already in mind, not after delivery.Deadhead limits that are too tight
Refusing every pickup over 50 miles away can cost more than the empty miles. Fix: judge loads on the all-in rate per mile, deadhead included.One load board and no phone calls
Plenty of freight moves through brokers who call carriers they know before posting. Fix: broker relationships, and posting your trucks, not just searching.
To tell which one you're dealing with, ask a simpler question first: is it volume or rate? If there are loads on the boards for your equipment near your trucks, but none at a rate you'll take, the problem is the floor, the lane or the timing. If you can't even get brokers to answer, it's usually the MC age or the packets.
Look at last month's empty miles too. A truck that runs plenty of miles but sits between loads has a reload problem. A truck that waits days for the first load of the week has a broker problem. Each points to a different fix, and fixing the wrong one costs another week.
UNIT 04
How to find loads for my truck, starting this week
What our desk changes first when an owner comes to us with trucks sitting. Every offer still comes to you for a yes or no.
Day 1
Find the real cause
We go through your packets, MC age, floor rates, home base and lanes on the first call.Days 1-2
Clean up the paperwork
One correct packet set, insurance certificates sorted, brokers that will onboard you lined up.Days 2-3
Reset the rules
Floor rate and deadhead limits from your real costs, per truck, not a guess.Day 3 on
Offers to approve
Loads with the reload planned before you say yes, so the next day isn't empty too.Every Monday
The report
Idle days, empty miles and rate per mile per truck, so you see the change week to week.
If you're an owner operator with no loads, another list of load boards won't fix it. What usually helps is someone working the problem full-time for a week: calling brokers on posted loads before they're gone, setting up the brokers that will take your MC, and planning each truck's next load while it's still loaded.
We can't promise a number of loads or a rate, and you should be wary of anyone who does. What we can promise is that you'll see every offer, the reason behind any offer below your floor, and a weekly report that shows whether idle days are going down. If they aren't, you can leave with 30 days notice.
The fee only exists when a truck hauls: 5% of gross for one truck, 4% for two or more, 7% while your MC is under 6 months. A truck that sits all week costs you nothing in dispatch. Full details are on the dispatch rates page.
UNIT 05
Dispatch desk or doing it yourself: an honest comparison
| Doing it yourself | Our dispatch desk | |
|---|---|---|
| Searching | Between loads, at night, from the cab | All day, every day, for every truck |
| Broker setups | One at a time, when you get to it | Lined up for your lanes before you need them |
| Reloads | Usually after delivery | Planned before the truck delivers |
| Who decides on loads | You | Still you, on every load |
| Cost | Your hours, plus board subscriptions | 4-7% of gross, only on loads hauled |
| Best when | One truck, a steady lane, time to spare | Several trucks, a new MC, or weeks of idle days |
If you're weighing a load board subscription against a dispatcher, our page on dispatcher vs load board runs the numbers for both, including the hours you spend booking freight yourself.
UNIT 06
Questions from owner operators with no loads
01Why can't I find loads for my trucks?
Usually one of six things: a new MC that brokers won't set up yet, missing or rejected carrier packets, a floor rate set above what your lanes pay, a home base far from steady freight, too little deadhead allowed, or relying on one load board. Most owners have two of them at once.
02How much does an idle truck cost per day?
Add up what you pay every week whether the truck moves or not: the truck payment, insurance, permits, ELD and phone, and any guaranteed driver pay. Divide by seven. Use the roster on this page with your own numbers; for many small fleets it's well over a hundred dollars a day per truck.
03How do dispatchers find loads for fleets?
Load boards are only part of it. A desk also works direct broker contacts, brokers it already has setups with, reload planning before a truck delivers, and repeat lanes once your trucks have a record. It searches for every truck at once, so one unit's delivery can set up another's pickup.
04How fast can a dispatcher get my trucks moving?
For an established MC with clean paperwork, offers can start within days of the first call. A new MC or a packet problem takes longer. Nobody can honestly promise a date, so ask how a dispatcher plans the first week instead.
05How far should I deadhead for a load?
It depends on the rate, not the miles. Work out the all-in rate per mile including the empty miles, and compare it with your cost per mile. A 120-mile deadhead into a strong market can beat sitting a day in a weak one. Set a deadhead limit per truck and change it when the market changes.
Trucks parked? Let's find out why this week.
Apply in about two minutes. A dispatcher calls you, finds what's keeping your trucks parked, and brings you the first offers to approve.
4% for 2+ trucks, 5% for one, 7% while your MC is new