Can't find loads? Trucking's usual causes, and what to do this week
If you can't find loads, the truck isn't the problem, and usually the market isn't either. Most empty trucks come down to a few fixable things: too few broker setups, a floor above what your lanes pay, the wrong gear for local freight, or deliveries into dead markets. Work out which one is yours first, honestly. Then fix that one thing before you change anything else.
What do you run?
Quick answers first
Note 01Why can't I find loads?
Usually it's one of a handful of things: too few broker setups, a new MC that some brokers won't load, a rate floor above what your lanes pay, missing gear, or deliveries into towns with little outbound freight. Sometimes it's a soft market. The diagnosis on this page narrows down which one is yours.
Note 02Should I move to a different region?
Sometimes, but not first. Before you relocate, check whether a wider loop from home, more broker setups or different freight solves it. Relocating chases freight that can move again. If your home market is truly thin for your equipment, running regional loops out of a stronger market can make sense.
Note 03Do brokers avoid new MCs?
Some do. Many brokers have a minimum authority age or ask more of new carriers, because fraud and failed loads cost them money. Plenty of others set up new MCs. A new authority's first job is getting approved with the brokers that will load it, with complete packets and fast insurance certificates.
Note 04Will a dispatcher get me more loads?
A dispatcher can get you more broker setups, more sources than one board, better-planned reloads and better rates. What a dispatcher can't do is create freight that isn't there. In a soft market or a thin lane, the honest answer may be a different loop or patience, and you should hear that plainly.
Note 05Do I still approve every load?
Yes. When you're short on loads, it's tempting to take anything. We still send every load as an offer, you still say yes or no, and the rate confirmation still comes from the broker straight to you. A bad load taken out of desperation often costs more than a day parked.
Diagnose your empty truck in two minutes
Pick your equipment and tick what sounds like you. The list shows the likely blockers and a fix for each. These rules come from dispatcher experience, not a survey, and your situation can have causes this list doesn't cover.
Blocker 1Nothing obvious from these answers
If none of these fit, the market in your lanes may simply be soft right now. That's when relationships and planning matter most.
The five causes, explained
Too few broker setups
You can only book loads from brokers who've approved you. A carrier set up with a handful of brokers sees a handful of brokers' freight, however many loads are posted. Setups take days, so they have to happen before you need them, not on the morning the truck is empty.
A floor above the market
A rate floor protects you from losing money on a load. Set above what your lanes actually pay, it parks the truck instead. Recheck your cost per mile and compare it with what loads in your lanes pay right now. The rate per mile calculator helps you compare offers honestly.
Missing gear
Shippers specify what they need. A flatbed without tarps, a van without load locks or a 26 ft box without a liftgate is locked out of a lot of freight. Find out what shippers in your lanes ask for. Our guides to finding flatbed loads and the 26 ft box truck cover common requirements.
Dead-end deliveries
Some towns receive far more than they ship. Deliver there and you're hunting for a reload in a market with little to give. Check outbound freight before you accept a load in. Our guide to reducing deadhead covers triangles and reload planning.
A soft market
Sometimes freight really is thin: a seasonal dip, a slow quarter, a weak sector. The fix there isn't a magic board, it's relationships, flexibility on lanes and keeping costs down until volume returns. Read dispatch in a slow freight market for what changes when freight is scarce.
Where loads actually come from
| Source | Good for | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Load boards | Seeing a lot of posted freight fast | Everyone else sees it too, and posted rates are a starting point |
| Broker relationships | Loads that never get posted, and repeat lanes | Takes time and a track record to build |
| Direct shippers | Steady freight and better rates | Shippers want reliability, insurance and often capacity you may not have yet |
| Dedicated lanes | Predictable weeks | Less flexibility, and you have to show up every time |
| Your own customers | Freight only you can get | One customer slowing down can empty your week |
A truck fed by one source is fragile. The carriers who stay loaded through slow stretches usually pull from several at once, and lean on whichever is strongest that week.
When the problem is the equipment or the lane
The wrong truck for the market
Some trucks fit their home market badly. A reefer in an area that ships mostly dry goods, a flatbed far from steel, lumber and construction, or a small box truck competing with vans: each fights for the scraps of local freight. Sometimes the fix is a loop that starts somewhere else. Sometimes it's a gear change. We dispatch 26 ft box trucks and larger only, because smaller boxes rarely get enough freight at rates that work.
How broker setups add up
Each broker you're approved with adds their freight to what you can book. The first setups go to brokers who move your equipment in your lanes, then to the ones covering the markets you deliver into, so the reload has options too. It's slow work up front: packets, certificates, verification calls. It's also the work that keeps paying back every week afterward.
Short on loads doesn't mean short on choices
When the truck has been sitting, every offer looks good. We still send each load as an offer you can refuse, with the lane, miles, rate and extras. If you book it, the rate con comes from the broker straight to you. If you pass, we keep looking.
Load offer / Dry van
Laredo, TX to Dallas, TX
- Miles
- 430
- Rate
- $1,100
- Per mile
- $2.56
On the rate con: reload in Dallas likely, drop-and-hook
Pickup: Today 16:00
Nothing is booked until you say so. You see the lane, the miles, the rate and every extra before anyone commits your truck.
What we do in the first week for an empty truck
Three moves, in this order. None of them is a trick; all of them take phone time most owner-operators don't have.
Move 01
Widen the setups
Get your packets approved with more brokers who move your equipment in your lanes, starting with those that take your authority age.
Move 02
Look past one board
Combine several load boards with direct broker and shipper contacts, so you see more of the market than one screen shows.
Move 03
Plan two loads, not one
Pick loads that chain together, so the first delivery sets up the second pickup instead of stranding you.
If you're weighing a dispatcher against running the boards yourself, read dispatcher vs load board for a fair comparison.
What not to do when the truck is empty
Don't take a load below your real cost just to move. A load that loses money and ends in a dead market leaves you worse off than a day parked: you've spent fuel, used hours and still need a reload, now from a worse spot.
Don't chase a load across three states on hope. Deadheading 300 miles for a load that might still be there when you arrive is a gamble. Confirm it's booked before you roll.
And don't sign up with any dispatcher who promises you a number of loads or a weekly gross. Nobody can promise freight. The ones who do are telling you what you want to hear.
Finally, don't burn a broker relationship over one bad offer. When freight is thin, the brokers who already know you are the ones who call first when something good comes up. Say no politely, explain your floor, and keep the door open. A broker you treated well during a slow month is a broker who remembers you when the market turns.
What it costs to have us fill the truck
5% of gross for one semi truck with an MC older than 6 months, 7% for new MCs, 26 ft box trucks and hotshots, and 4% for fleets of 2 or more semi trucks. We only charge on loads we book, so a week we can't fill costs you nothing. No setup fee, no contract, 30 days notice to leave.
- Week with no loads
- $0 fee
- Setup fee
- $0
- Contract
- Month-to-month
- Approval
- Every load, yours
Empty truck? Send us the details today.
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