What is a load board?

An online marketplace where brokers and shippers post loads and carriers find them, or carriers post available trucks. DAT reported over 700,000 load posts a day in September 2026.

Do you need broker authority to run a load board?

Not just to publish load information, under FMCSA's 2023 guidance, even for a fee. A board that takes part in arranging the transaction between shipper and carrier needs broker authority.

What is a load-to-truck ratio?

DAT's measure of the number of available loads on its marketplace for every available truck. It swings week to week, so DAT suggests reading its movement over four to twelve weeks.

Term

Load board

A load board is an online marketplace where shippers and brokers post loads and carriers find them, or carriers post empty trucks. DAT, which says it created the first electronic load board in 1978, reported over 700,000 load posts a day in September 2026. Listing leads alone does not make a board a broker under FMCSA guidance.

Also called freight load board, truck load board, freight matching board, load posting boardApplies in USUpdated 13 October 2026

How it works

DAT defines a load board as a service that matches shippers and freight brokers with carriers willing to transport their freight. A broker posts a load with its origin, destination, equipment and date; carriers search by lane, call or message, and agree a rate. Most of what moves this way is spot freight, priced load by load.

When a board needs broker authority

A broker is a person who, for compensation, arranges or offers to arrange the transportation of property by an authorized motor carrier (49 CFR 371.2). FMCSA's 2023 guidance draws the line for boards: merely making information about potential shippers publicly available, whether or not a fee is charged, does not require broker authority — as long as the board is not otherwise involved in any transaction between the shipper and the carrier.

Worked example: what the broker must keep

The record shows	For example
Name and address of the consignor	The shipper whose load was posted
Name, address and registration number of the originating motor carrier	The carrier that booked it
Bill of lading or freight bill number	The number on the shipping paperwork
The broker's compensation and who paid it	The broker's margin and the shipper that paid
Freight charges collected and the date paid to the carrier	What the carrier was paid, and when

A broker books a load found through a board. US rules require a record of the transaction, kept three years (49 CFR 371.3)

Each party to a brokered transaction has the right to review that record — so a carrier can see what the shipper paid for the load it hauled.

The mistake people make

Reading one week's load-to-truck ratio as a trend. DAT defines it as the number of available loads on its marketplace for every available truck, and the ratio swings from week to week; DAT suggests watching its movement over four to twelve weeks before reading anything into it.

FAQ

Load board: common questions

What is a load board?: An online marketplace where brokers and shippers post loads and carriers find them, or carriers post available trucks. DAT reported over 700,000 load posts a day in September 2026.
Do you need broker authority to run a load board?: Not just to publish load information, under FMCSA's 2023 guidance, even for a fee. A board that takes part in arranging the transaction between shipper and carrier needs broker authority.
What is a load-to-truck ratio?: DAT's measure of the number of available loads on its marketplace for every available truck. It swings week to week, so DAT suggests reading its movement over four to twelve weeks.