According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, “Independent truckers and small trucking companies make up the majority of U.S. freight carriers, with 91 percent of fleets operating six or fewer trucks and 97 percent operating 20 or fewer, according to the American Trucking Association.” The most recent statistics from the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association estimates that more 500,000 carriers fall into this demographic. Clearly, it behooves you as a broker or 3PL to target this demographic if you want to build your carrier network and provide great service to your customers.
Here are four ways you can reach independent truckers and small trucking companies with Trucker Tools.
1. Trucker Tools’ Market Share Among Independent Truckers, Small Carriers
At present, 30 percent of independent truckers and carriers running fewer than 20 trucks use Trucker Tools’ technology-based tools and platforms. If you want to tap into this demographic, consider using the Trucker Tools driver app with your carrier base, as many of your drivers already may be using our app on a daily basis. More than 1.3 million truckers have downloaded Trucker Tools’ free driver app to date. More than 165,000 unique carriers also are using our free software platform for carriers. Increase your reach with owner ops and small trucking companies by using the technology they prefer: Trucker Tools.
As Dave Belter, Vice President and General Manager of Global Transportation Management Solutions for Ryder, said in a recent webinar, “Having that many active carriers with Trucker Tools is huge for us and I think any other broker would want to plug into that. Gaining visibility with small carriers is a difficult task and if they’re active in Trucker Tools, it solves that for us.”
“Having that many active carriers with Trucker Tools is huge for us and I think any other broker would want to plug into that. Gaining visibility with small carriers is a difficult task and if they’re active in Trucker Tools, it solves that for us.”
2. Build Your Brand with Broker Advantage
Last year, we launched a new program for brokers and 3PLs like you called Broker Advantage. With Broker Advantage, you can easily reach small carriers and owner operators with whom you already have relationships, as well as those small carriers and owner ops who aren’t yet familiar with your company. Broker Advantage provides you with the opportunity to build a “home page” for your broker/3PL business within Trucker Tools’ driver app and free carrier platform. This home page includes your company logo and can be customized to include links to your high priority loads, information on discounts and incentives, company news and document upload links. Any time that a driver or carrier views your loads in the driver app or carrier platform, they’ll see your logo.
In addition to helping you build your brand, Broker Advantage offers value to small carriers and owner operators, as well. It simplifies their communications with you and makes it easier small carriers and independent truckers to learn about your loads and your company without ever picking up the phone, sending you an email or opening a web browser.
3. Book It Now: Save Owner Ops and Small Trucking Companies Valuable Time
Just like you do in your business, independent truckers and small trucking companies value efficiency and time-savings. Time is money in the transportation business and any time lost to manual tasks represents a lost opportunity for owner operators and carriers to pull another load and maximize their revenue. You can increase efficiency for your own business and that of small carriers and owner operators with innovative tools like Trucker Tools’ Book It Now®.
When you post one of your loads as a Book It Now® load in Trucker Tools’ digital freight matching platform, you give small carriers and independent truckers the opportunity to book the load instantly via the Trucker Tools driver app or free carrier platform. The load is automatically booked in your transportation management system and the carrier dispatcher/driver receives an automated email confirming the appointment. Helping independent truckers and small carriers maximize their efficiency and reduce downtime increases the likelihood that they’re going to want to move one of your loads again.
4. Better Capacity Options with Digital Freight Matching
With so many owner operators and small trucking companies on Trucker Tools’ platforms, it’s easy for you to find new truck capacity when you need it and to communicate with small carriers/owner operators with whom you already have relationships. Instead of emailing or calling small carriers, or posting your loads on load boards, consider using Trucker Tools’ digital freight matching platform instead.
Trucker Tools’ digital freight matching platform makes it easy for you to find available trucks from within your customized list of preferred carriers. Digital freight matching reduces the manual tasks associated with covering a load.
Like any small business, small trucking companies value efficiency and want to reduce their cost per load, too. Digital freight matching offers that efficiency boost and helps you maintain and build relationships within the small carrier and owner operator demographic. Trucker Tools’ digital freight matching also helps you reduce “one and done” transactions with small carriers and owner operators, thereby increasing carrier utilization.
Watch Inside Scoop: How Ryder Differentiated Their Brokerage With Trucker Tools
to learn how Ryder is using Trucker Tools’ carrier-centric technology to improve carrier loyalty and deepen capacity choices. Schedule a free demo of Trucker Tools’ digital freight matching, Book It Now® and real-time visibility platform.
