The fast track in trucking's electronic lane just got a little faster. The Internet Truckstop, the first Internet-based load-matching service, has taken the concept one step further into something very close to a live, real-time market. The upgrade they call "a quantum leap forward" is named Instant Notification.
According to Doug Moscrip of Internet Truckstop, subscribers who use Instant Notification now see site updates every 2.5 minutes. Many customers, particularly freight brokers, now keep Internet Truckstop on their computer screens throughout the day, Moscrip said.
What's so different? According to Moscrip, Instant Notification is the 3rd generation in the evolution of load matching services. The first, he said, was fax notification, in which subscribers received daily lists of available loads and equipment. The second was e-mail notification of likely matches. Now, he said, Instant Notification matches loads with equipment within 2.5 minutes of a posting.

The service does not cost extra, said Moscrip, and is available to all subscribers at the normal monthly rate of $25. After a period of beta testing, Instant Notification went live on the Internet Truckstop a month ago. Since then, he said, postings of available equipment have tripled.
How did the word spread so quickly? "We believe it has been brokers who use our systems telling drivers to post their availability," said Moscrip.
If equipment postings have tripled, what about loads?
That, Moscrip explained, is harder to quantify because available loads tend to vanish between 10 and 15 minutes after posting. But he estimates load postings have risen approximately 100%.
At 5 years old, Internet Truckstop claims to be the largest Internet load-matching service available.