How to bid on loads: bids that win and still pay

Bidding vs negotiating

Negotiating is a conversation: a broker makes an offer, you counter, and you meet somewhere. Bidding is different. You submit a price, often in writing or through an app, and the broker or shipper picks among the bids they get. There may be no back and forth at all. You get one shot, so the number has to be right the first time.

Carriers bid in a few places: on load board postings that accept bids or offers, in broker apps with a make-an-offer button, by email to broker load lists, and in shipper or broker bid tools for regular lanes. The method is the same in all of them. This guide covers bidding on single loads. For annual lane bids and contracts, see freight contracts for bid.

Step 1: Build the bid from your costs

Every bid starts from the same three numbers. Your cost per mile, the total cost of running the truck divided by all miles. The load's total miles, loaded plus the empty miles to reach the pickup. And your margin. Multiply cost per mile by total miles for your minimum. Add your margin for your target.

The counter-offer calculator builds the minimum and target for you. For stops, the multi-stop load pay calculator prices them by time and miles.

Step 2: Adjust for the load

Your base target assumes an ordinary load. Real loads aren't ordinary. Before you send the bid, adjust for anything that costs you time, risk or the next load.

• +Add for: extra stops, long live loads or unloads, tight or overnight appointments, tarps, heavy weight, hazmat, hand unloading, city deliveries and loads into areas with weak outbound freight.
• +Subtract for, carefully: a load into a strong market where your next load is easy, or a load that fills a gap you'd otherwise drive empty. Never go under your minimum without a reason you'd write down.
• +Check the time: a load that takes two days earns less per day than its rate suggests. Compare with what the truck would earn otherwise.

Step 3: Decide where to bid in the range

You have a floor and a target. Where you bid between them, or above the target, depends on the situation. The ladder below shows how an offer sits against your floor and target. Try it with your own numbers.

Bid near or above your target when the load is hard to cover, the pickup is soon, the market is tight, or you'd be happy not to get it. Bid nearer your floor when the load fits your week perfectly, the broker is one you want to build a relationship with, or the market is soft and loads are scarce. Don't bid your floor as a habit; it trains brokers to expect it.

Step 4: Write a bid that gets read

Many bids go to a broker who is looking at dozens. A clear, short bid stands out. Where there's a notes field or you're bidding by email, include the number, when you can pick up, and one line on why you're a good fit.

• +EXAMPLE: "$1,264 all-in. Empty in Columbus, can pick up tomorrow 7 a.m. Price includes the second stop."
• +EXAMPLE: "$1,180. I run this lane weekly and deliver on time; happy to be your regular truck on it."
• +State the basis: all-in, or linehaul plus fuel. A bid without a basis invites confusion later.
• +Have your carrier packet ready to send the moment you win, because brokers often pick the truck that can be set up fastest.

Step 5: Be fast, then let it go

On spot loads, speed matters almost as much as price. A good bid sent an hour after posting may lose to a slightly higher bid sent in the first ten minutes, because the broker wanted the load covered. Set up searches for your lanes, check them at the times brokers usually post, and bid quickly on loads that fit.

Once you've bid, move on. Don't wait on one load. Bid on several that fit your week, and be ready to decline gracefully if two come back at once. If a broker counters below your minimum, it's a no. If they counter between your minimum and target, you can accept, or meet partway if the platform allows.

Bidding on load boards and broker apps

Some load boards let you place a bid or make an offer directly on a posting. Others only show a phone number or email, which means calling or emailing your bid. Broker apps and digital freight marketplaces often show a set price with a book-now button, and sometimes a make-an-offer option alongside it. On a book-now price, the decision is just whether that number clears your floor on all miles.

When the posting shows a rate, read it as the broker's opening position, not the ceiling. When it doesn't, the broker wants your number first. Either way, bid from your costs, not from the posted number or what you think others will bid. Our guides to how load boards work and freight loads available cover where to find loads worth bidding on.

A full EXAMPLE bid, start to finish

Here's how the steps fit together on one EXAMPLE load posted on a board with a make-an-offer button: 520 loaded miles, a second stop 15 miles before the final delivery, pickup tomorrow at 7 a.m., no rate shown. Your truck is empty 60 miles from the pickup.

Your minimum is $986 and your target is $1,164 before the stop. The stop takes about 90 minutes, so you add $100. The delivery area has decent outbound freight for your trailer, so you don't add anything for a weak reload. You bid $1,264 all-in with a short note: "Includes the second stop. Empty nearby, can pick up at 7." You send it ten minutes after the posting appears, with your carrier packet ready.

The broker counters at $1,200. That's above your minimum by $214 and close to your target, so you accept. Before dispatching the truck, you check that the rate confirmation shows $1,200 all-in with the second stop and the pickup time you agreed.

Bidding on partials and multi-stop loads

Partials and multi-stop loads need extra care, because the time they take isn't obvious from the miles. Price each stop separately, include the empty miles to the first pickup, and check whether a partial leaves room for another shipment that could share the trip. Our guide to partial loads covers combining shipments. On a multi-stop bid, state the stop pay inside your number so it's clear the stops are included.

When not to bid

Not every load deserves a bid. Bidding takes time, and a bid you win on a load you shouldn't have taken costs more than a bid you lose. Skip loads that fail any of these checks.

• +The broker doesn't check out. No active authority, contact details that don't match the registration, or a history of slow payment.
• +You can't make the appointments legally. Check the run against your hours before you bid.
• +The load needs equipment or endorsements you don't have. A missing tarp, a hazmat endorsement or a liftgate you don't have turns a win into a cancellation.
• +The delivery leaves you stranded. A load into an area with no freight for your equipment can cost more the next day than it pays today.
• +The posted rate is far above the lane with pressure to commit now. That's a common sign of a fake load.

Bidding as a new authority

New carriers often feel they have to bid low to win anything. Some brokers do expect lower rates from new authorities, and many won't set up a brand-new MC at all, which narrows the field. But bidding under your costs to get started is a hole that gets deeper with every load. Bid your target or close to it, focus on brokers known to work with new carriers, and win on speed and reliability instead.

Every load you deliver well adds to your record. After a few months, more brokers will set you up and more bids will win at fair rates. Keep notes on which brokers accepted you and how they paid, so you know where to bid first as your options grow. Our guide to load boards for new authority covers the first months in more detail.

Bidding in a slow market

When freight is scarce, more carriers bid on every load, and winning bids drift lower. It's tempting to follow them down. The better response is usually to change what you bid on rather than how low you go: look for loads into stronger markets, partials that combine, lanes with fewer trucks, and brokers who value reliability. A slow market is also a good time to build relationships, since brokers remember the carriers who covered their loads well when it was hard.

If you do bid lower in a slow market, cut your margin, not your floor. A load that pays your costs keeps the truck moving. A load under your costs only moves the problem to next week.

Speed without mistakes

Being fast shouldn't mean being careless. The way to bid quickly and accurately is to do the slow work in advance. Know your cost per mile and margin before you start searching. Keep your carrier packet as one file you can send in seconds. Save the brokers you've already checked, so you only vet new ones. And keep a short checklist for each load: miles, empty miles, stops, appointment times, weight. With those ready, a well-built bid takes two or three minutes.

Track your bids

Keep a simple log: the load, your bid, whether it won, and the final rate if you know it. After a few weeks, patterns show up. You'll see which brokers accept bids near your target and which only take low ones, which lanes have room, and how fast you need to be. If you're winning almost every bid, your margin may be too thin. If you're winning almost none, check if you're bidding on the wrong loads, bidding too slowly, or pricing above what the lane can bear in the current market.

Adjust your margin with what you learn, never your floor. Your floor comes from your costs, and the market doesn't change those.