In this Broker Tip blog series, we’re providing carrier sales reps and freight brokers like you with tips and tricks for maximizing profitability and saving time in your everyday work. This newest blog in the ongoing series is all about backhauls, also known as reloads. According to a 2022 report from the American Transport Research Institute, nearly 15 percent of the mileage driven by truckers in 2021 were “deadhead” miles, i.e. empty miles driven without freight and without generating revenue. Anytime that a carrier or owner operator drives empty, it hurts their profitability.
A great way to keep carriers and drivers in your network and to be a good partner to both is to offer them backhaul loads (also known as reloads) on every load. A backhaul or reload is a load that takes the driver or carrier back into the same market which they came out of. Providing backhauls saves carriers and drivers time, as they don’t have to search for a return trip load on their own. Keep in mind that trucking companies and drivers using Trucker Tools’ driver app and carrier platform also will see reloads automatically displayed on every load they view in the app/carrier platform.
Read on to learn more about how to easily locate and offer your carriers and drivers reloads/backhauls on every load you book with Trucker Tools’ digital freight matching platform.
Step #1 – Open Load List
To start, open your Load List from the main screen in Smart Capacity.
Step #2 – Select Load
Select the load that you want to work on. In this example, we’re choosing load S0307238, a reefer load with a pickup location of Winston Salem, N.C., and destination of Riverside, Calif.
Step #3 – View Available Reloads
To view possible reloads for the load, click on 4 RELOADS on the load detail screen. For each reload listed, you can view the pickup and delivery locations and dates, weight, deadhead miles and other key details.
In this example, we don’t have any reloads that will take the driver directly back into the origin market of Winston Salem, N.C. We do, however, have four possible reloads to offer the driver/carrier that will get him/her/them back on the East Coast.
Even if the driver/carrier ultimately doesn’t accept the reload you offer, offering a backhaul on every load you book shows you’re making a good faith effort to take care of your carrier/driver.
Read the previous broker tip in this series, “Broker Tip: Digital Freight Matching Terms and Tools.”
