Free Load Board: Find your next haul

A load board is a digital platform that connects shippers with carriers in the freight industry. It serves as a marketplace that hosts available loads for trucks to pick up. From there, carriers can swiftly find, book, and make offers on shipments that match their capacity and preferences. The free trucking load board from C.H. Robinson can help facilitate efficient and transparent communication, enabling carriers to streamline the process of securing loads.

A trucking load board is an online marketplace that connects shippers that have freight to move with carriers that have available capacity. These platforms simplify the process of finding freight by making real-time load listings accessible to carriers anywhere.

Here’s how the process works step by step:

1. Freight Posting
   Shippers and brokers list available freight on the load board, including key details such as pickup and delivery time and locations, equipment type required, weight, deadlines, and sometimes the offered rate.
2. Carrier Browsing
   Carriers log in to the load board to search for freight that matches their lanes, equipment, and schedule. Many boards offer filters by region, trailer type, and delivery timeframe to help narrow results.
3. Rate Negotiation & Booking
   Depending on the board, carriers can either accept posted rates, submit an offer, or negotiate with the shipper or broker directly. Once terms are agreed upon, the carrier secures the load.
4. Shipment Execution
   With the booking confirmed, the carrier picks up the freight and completes delivery as scheduled. Some load boards integrate tracking or document management to simplify the process further.

Load boards streamline the freight-matching process by saving carriers time, providing real-time visibility into available loads, and helping them reduce empty miles. Most free boards offer basic access for smaller carriers or new entrants, while paid boards typically provide more advanced tools, rate data, and higher-quality load opportunities.

Begin your search by viewing thousands of available loads—more than any other provider in North America—directly on the C.H. Robinson load board within Navisphere Carrier.

Begin your search by viewing thousands of available loads—more than any other provider in North America—directly on the C.H. Robinson load board within Navisphere Carrier.

Currently, intermodal loads are not available within Navisphere Carrier. To find loads for your intermodal equipment, you can post equipment to the Post Trucks section in Navisphere Carrier or call our regional centers:

• East: +1 630-577-1730
• Midwest: +1 630-577-1730
• West: +1 630-577-1760

Yes. Talk to your C.H. Robinson representative about receiving and accepting/rejecting load tenders through Navisphere Carrier.

Yes. We have more loads available online to book instantly than any other provider. Log in to Navisphere Carrier to search thousands of bookable loads available outside of business hours.

For loads that are not available for instant booking, the best way to request a load outside of business hours is to email the representative who posted the load you want. When the office opens, they can contact you directly in response to your email.

Call our support department at +1 800-326-9977.

Yes, free load boards do not require a subscription or sign-up fee. However, most free services come with limitations. These can include fewer available loads, limited search filters, or restrictions on how many postings you can view per day. Carriers should be aware that while free access is valuable for getting started, paid platforms often unlock larger load volumes and more advanced tools.

Some free load boards display the offered rate for specific loads, but most do not include detailed rate history or comparison tools. Without this data, it can be harder to know whether a load pays competitively. Paid platforms usually offer full visibility into market rates, which helps in negotiating better deals and avoids underpriced freight. The free load board from C.H. Robinson requires the user to be logged in to view freight rates for specific loads and to utilize load board freight filters.  

Free load boards usually allow carriers to:

• Access some real-time postings
• Search for available freight by origin and destination
• View basic load details such as equipment type and pickup date

Paid load boards typically add more advanced tools, such as:

• Market demand analytics
• Broker and shipper credit scores
• Comprehensive rate data and historical averages
• Enhanced search filters and unlimited load matches

Navisphere Carrier is a proprietary C.H. Robinson platform and mobile app designed specifically for contracted carriers (and drivers), offering a comprehensive suite of tools to streamline freight management. It is free to use for approved carriers and includes features such as real-time load booking, negotiating, and tracking, along with a GPS-enabled mobile app for on-the-go operations. The platform also supports document uploads to accelerate payment processing and provides personalized load recommendations and automation options to enhance efficiency and carrier experience.

Unlike generic load boards, Navisphere Carrier is deeply integrated with the global C.H. Robinson freight network, offering exclusive access to high-volume loads and streamlined operations for carriers already in the network.

Carriers can find oversized and over-dimensional loads on load boards with flatbed and specialized equipment filters, through brokers that focus on oversize freight, and by working with shippers directly. These loads typically move on open-deck equipment and can require permits, escorts, and route planning, so confirm requirements before booking. C.H. Robinson ships overweight and over-dimensional freight. C.H. Robinson's free load board, Navisphere^® Carrier, includes over-dimensional and heavy haul filters, as well as, labels on the loads themselves. Carriers with questions about specialized loads can view our guide on How to Book Flatbed Freight or reach carrier support.

Yes, tanker and bulk loads can be found on load boards that include a bulk equipment filter. Search by origin, destination and pickup date, select the bulk equipment type, and confirm your equipment meets the shipper's requirements before booking. C.H. Robinson's free load board, Navisphere^® Carrier, includes a Bulk equipment filter, and tanker and bulk freight is among the equipment types it ships. Carrier equipment requirements are covered in the Carrier Resources: FAQs.

Hot shot carriers typically find loads by searching a load board by origin, destination, and pickup date. Then, filtering for open-deck freight that fits their equipment. Hot shot setups, usually a gooseneck trailer pulled by a one- or two-ton pickup, are best suited to loads of about 10,000 lbs or less and 40 feet or shorter, so weight and length are the key filters. C.H. Robinson's free load board, Navisphere^® Carrier, includes a flatbed equipment filter for open-deck freight. For more on when hot shot makes sense, see this guide to hot shot shipping?.

The best load board for a cargo van is one that's free or low-cost, lets you filter by equipment type, and surfaces regional loads so you spend less time running empty. Look for clear rate information, quick booking or offers, and enough load detail to vet a broker before you commit. C.H. Robinson's free load board, Navisphere^® Carrier, lets carriers search by origin, destination, radius, and equipment type, with local and regional loads available. Whichever board you use, compare each load's rate against your costs per mile with a profit calculator.

Box truck drivers should look for a load board with equipment filters that fit box and straight trucks, visible rates, quick booking or offers, and mobile access for finding loads on the road. Free or low-cost access matters too, since box truck margins are tight. C.H. Robinson's free load board, Navisphere^® Carrier, lets carriers search by origin, destination, and equipment type. Before committing to any board, confirm your carrier requirements, including insurance and equipment, in the Carrier Resources: FAQs.