Con-way Multimodal, a division of Con-way Inc., has launched a new tool to help carriers find freight loads using Twitter, the social media platform.


To use Con-way TweetLoad, carriers can follow @ConwayTweetLoad to see the latest available shipments and links to further information on the Con-way Multimodal link board, where carriers can place bids on available loads daily.

"With this novel use of Twitter, Con-way Multimodal is leading the industry in maximizing the best features of new technology to improve their processes," said Bill Graves, president, American Trucking Associations. "This is a great example of how innovative transportation companies can make it easier for carriers to do business with them, which will be a benefit to our industry overall."

Freight carriers registered with Con-way Multimodal have always been able to bid on available loads by signing in to the company's Web-based load board, Link. Now, by following the company on Twitter, carriers will have more convenient access to load information that is updated every 15 minutes. To accept loads, a carrier must be a registered partner of Con-way Multimodal's third-party capacity network.

"Twitter is where the carriers are, and Con-way TweetLoad enables us to reach them by pushing shipment information directly and automatically to any carrier who wants it, even on mobile devices," said Tyler Ellison, president, Con-way Multimodal.

To create the TweetLoad functionality, Con-way Multimodal IT professionals designed a patent-pending application that extracts key information on available loads from Link, using the information to populate individual load tweets viewable by TweetLoad followers.

To follow TweetLoad, go to twitter.com/ConwayTweetLoad.

Here's a YouTube demonstration of TweetLoad: