How to Maximise Load Board Opportunities
If you’re a carrier company, you’ll know the trucking industry can be competitive. You’ll also understand the importance of securing contracts, and booking enough loads, to maintain revenue. At the same time, to work towards profitability, transport operations must be efficient, with vehicles kept at full capacity as often as possible.
Carriers have been able to use free load boards for a long time, and while the technology has evolved, the principle is the same. Sometimes called freight load boards or freight matching services, these help connect carriers and shippers by letting the demand meet supply on an online platform.
Through Amazon Relay’s free load board with rates fully transparent, carriers can find loads that fit their business needs, with a wide range of options available and tools that can help save time and drive efficiency. Here we’ll look at how to get the best value and experience out of the platform.
Recap: What is a load board?
Load boards are platforms that enable shippers and freight brokers to connect online with carrier companies and owner-operators. This functions as an online marketplace where carrier companies, owner-operators, freight brokers can post available loads and look for work.
Carriers post details of their capacity so shippers or third-party logistics services (3PLs) can see who is available to carry their freight. Brokers also post the loads they want to ship on the platforms which carriers can accept if they have capacity.
Platforms like these allow carriers to browse stop points, arrival and departure times, payments and other requirements for each load. Ideally, this lets them find loads best suited to their circumstances.
What does Amazon Relay’s load board offer carriers?
Amazon Relay enables experienced, reliable carriers to tap into Amazon’s network, technology, and safety-first culture to build and grow their transportation business. When you work with Amazon Relay, you can access:
- Spot freight: Single loads, including rail and port drayage, and drop work, booked at transparent prices all listed on the load board—with fuel surcharges, base rates and toll charges included.
- Blocks: Jobs that are booked in time blocks, which can be filled with loads that start and end in the same area.
- Post A Truck: As a carrier, you can post your empty capacity and availability to find opportunities for spot loads.
Instead of calling up and negotiating, Amazon Relay’s load board makes it easy for carriers to book a load at the click of a button.
With the amount of freight Amazon is shipping, you have the freedom to choose how you work and how you’ll grow. Plus, high performing carriers get first access (easy access status) to spot freight posted on Amazon Relay’s load board. Relay mobile app users also get push notifications with load alerts (available on iOS and Android).
How to maximise load board opportunities on Relay
Use Post A Truck
When you use the Post A Truck (PAT) option, you don’t need to watch load boards throughout the day. To get a chance to be matched to spot work, simply share when and where your carrier vehicles, trailers and drivers will be available, and we’ll notify you when someone applies
PAT also lets you duplicate requests through saved searches. This is helpful if you are running similar types of loads on a regular basis. Plus, it can give you future recommendations based on your past loads.
Maintain high performance score
Amazon Relay uses four metrics to assess the performance of its carriers, measured over the past six weeks of work: ratio of on-time loads, how often a carrier rejects tendered work, how well drivers follow Relay’s rules around using the mobile app, and the amount of disruptions per journey.
When your carrier profile achieves a high enough performance score, you get early access status. This gives you an advantage by letting you see rates before other drivers, meaning you can better plan routes in advance.
Book direct through the Relay app
The Amazon Relay app, available on iOS or Android, helps carriers drive efficiency in their operations with commercial navigation, streamlined check-ins, and real-time alerts—so don’t forget to turn on notifications. These features help limit dwell time, while also simplifying your access to loads.
Provide detail
On the list of potential carriers, it’s important to stand out from the crowd. You can add further information about your equipment’s specific features, and the pay rates you would accept to carry shippers’ loads.
Pick your moments
The time of day, and day of the week, that you post can influence your chances of securing the right loads. You should also be sure to respond in good time to match opportunities.
Use search filters
Amazon Relay’s load board have filters that allow you to narrow down your search based on factors like location, equipment type and freight type. Take advantage of these filters to find loads that are the most profitable for your trucking business and use them for strategic route mapping.
Fill your capacity
When using less-than-truckload (LTL) space, as a carrier you can look for loads that will fill up any empty space in your trailer. In making extra drops and pickups, the reward is often greater than the upfront cost. This helps you improve efficiency which in turn benefits your revenue.
Start booking loads today with Relay
Register as a Relay carrier today to get started and find load matches. No hassle or hidden fees — tap into Amazon Relay’s network to help you build and grow your business.
