Freightfinder.com load board history

Back in the early 1990’s, I was working as a regional shipping director for a large manufacturing company. This was before the explosion of internet, or even email use. Transport for the daily full loads we shipped, were negotiated over the phone, mainly with a core of trucking companies specializing in the lanes we shipped to, as well as with some freight brokers.

As opposed to the standard common carriers we used for LTL shipments, or the intermodal companies we dealt with for large shipments going across the continent, the full loads were mainly made up of multi drop shipments. Depending on where the driver wanted to end his deliveries, we would have the trucks loaded to the most efficient route.

At the time, I also happened to be looking into to starting a side business, with a friend of mine that had just finished studying web design. Unsure of which direction we wanted to head towards, we discussed various ideas. 

One afternoon, one of the US based drivers sent by a broker happened to mention a new system his dispatcher had signed up to, namely, a load board. The idea sounded great, and having firsthand experience in the trucking / shipping industry, it didn’t take long for my friend and I to partner up in creating https://www.freightfinder.comFreightfinder.com .

Freightfinder.com was launched in 1997, shortly before our free load board service was created. At the time, the site was mainly a collection of useful trucking industry links. The free load board was launched in 1998, and service remains 100% free of charge to this day. Freightfinder.com continues to draw its revenue from our sponsors / advertisers.

Over the years, we have had a variety of dedicated advertisers, from other load boards, to trucking software companies, and financial services to fleet management solutions.