Truck dispatching is a rapidly growing business. Many companies hire their own dispatcher, but other companies and some individuals who own and operate their own trucks hire the services of a dispatching company. Before the Internet, truck dispatchers kept charts to keep track of drivers and loads. Today, with high speed Internet and software designed specifically to aid truck dispatchers, efficiency is increased. Dispatchers use the Internet to find loads and backhaul loads, enabling a driver to earn money for nearly all the miles he puts on his truck.
Truck drivers drop off goods at all times of the year. Whether the temperature gets hot or stays cold for a number of months, truck drivers must deliver products on time or run the risk of losing their jobs. However, with the assistance of a trucking dispatcher who knows how to help his drivers stay on schedule, the job of a truck driver gets a bit less difficult.
Without dispatchers, commercial truck drivers would never know where they were supposed to go. Dispatchers provide drivers with the information they require to pick up and deliver their next load. Independent dispatchers are responsible for locating the loads and often sign contracts with shippers and brokers for their customers from the dispatcher’s home as opposed to company dispatchers that work as employees for trucking companies in an office. Pay is dependent on the arrangement with the driver or customer. Some dispatchers receive a percentage of the load revenue, some receive a set amount per load and a few receive a set weekly amount.
Becoming a Trucking Dispatcher
Guidelines:
1.) Get the schooling you need to become a trucking dispatcher. Those who hope to hold this position need to at least have their high school diploma. The bulk of the knowledge you gain to be a trucking dispatcher comes when you mirror the good habits of successful truck dispatchers who have years of experience in the industry.
2.) Write down the things you see good truck dispatchers do while on the job. Though it takes time to learn how to become a good dispatcher, focus on the main duties of your job and tackle them one area at a time. You need to learn how to schedule the drop-offs of various products and know about alternate routes to take depending on the amount of traffic in a given area. Among the tools that make the life of a dispatcher easier, are GPS (Global Positioning System) devices and database programs to keep everything organized and on schedule.
3.) React well to pressure. If you want to be a trucking dispatcher, you need to learn how to perform well under pressure. For instance, if a truck driver that you guide needs to get to a certain location by 6 p.m. to make a delivery, focus on getting him there in the quickest manner possible. Give him the directions he needs, help him to avoid routes with too much traffic and stay in constant communication with him on your two-way radio while you speak in a calm, collected manner.
4.) Advertise your services. As an independent dispatcher, you need motor carriers and loads. Put up flyers in local truck stops, and mail post cards to carriers informing them of your service. As a dispatcher, you cannot directly take loads from manufacturers but you can be a representative for your carriers and arrange for the carrier to provide transportation services for the manufacturer. The FMCSA does not require dispatchers to receive a broker’s license.
