Freight brokerage and TMS insights

Polt.ai is now a Highway TMS partner. Highway-approved carriers sync straight into Polt's carrier workflow, so brokers vet and book from one place.

A freight agent sells and covers freight under a licensed broker's authority for a share of the margin. What agents do, how the split works, and how to start.

A bill of lading is the receipt, the contract and sometimes the title for a shipment. The types, what goes in each field, and the mistakes that cause claims.

How employee brokers, independent agents and brokerage owners are paid, what the official wage data says, and what actually moves the number.

No course or certificate is required to become a freight broker in the US. What training covers, the types available, what they cost, and how to judge one.

NMFC codes are not published in a free public list. Where to find the right NMFC item number, what the code means, and how to get the class right.

Freight factoring lets a carrier sell an unpaid invoice for cash now. How it works, what it costs, recourse vs non-recourse, and what brokers must do.

Full truckload shipping means one shipment has the whole trailer. When FTL beats LTL, the equipment types, and how FTL freight is priced.

Starting a freight brokerage takes broker authority, a $75,000 bond, working capital and a way to run loads. The steps in order and what each costs.

NMFC assigns every LTL commodity an item number and a freight class. What the codes mean, how class is decided, and what changed in 2025.

Where freight brokers find shipper leads, how to qualify them, and how to turn a first conversation into a first load.

A digital freight marketplace matches shippers' loads with carriers' trucks online. How it works, and how it differs from a load board and a TMS.

A freight broker arranges transport between shippers and carriers without owning trucks. What brokers do, how they are paid, and how they differ from forwarders.

Every US freight broker needs a $75,000 bond or trust. What the BMC-84 is, what decides the cost, how it differs from a BMC-85, and how to get one.

A freight broker license is FMCSA broker authority. The requirements, the steps, what it costs, how long it takes, and whether any state needs its own.

A freight broker arranges transport and never takes the freight. A freight forwarder takes responsibility for it. How they differ and when to use each.

A carrier packet is the set of documents a broker collects before giving a carrier a load. What goes in it, and a checklist you can copy.

A freight broker works between shipper and carrier. A dispatcher works for the carrier. An agent works under a broker. How pay and licensing differ.

A rate confirmation is the written agreement between a broker and a carrier for one load. What it must include, and a template you can copy.

The law requires a freight broker to hold a $75,000 bond, not insurance. Shippers still expect cover. The policies brokers carry and what each does.

Margin is profit as a share of revenue; markup is profit as a share of cost. The formulas, a freight example, a conversion table, and the mistake to avoid.

TMS software plans, executes and tracks freight. What a transportation management system does, the three main types, and how it is priced.

Double brokering is when a load is handed to another carrier without consent. What it means, whether it is illegal, the warning signs, and how to prevent it.

What it takes to become a freight broker in the US: FMCSA authority, the $75,000 bond, BOC-3, the tools you need, and how to find your first shippers.

There is no single best freight broker software or TMS — there is a best fit. Here are the seven criteria that decide it, and what to test in the demo.

Cargo theft losses hit $725M in 2025, and most of it came through fraud, not break-ins. Here's how the schemes work and what shippers should ask their broker.

Rose Rocket serves brokers, carriers, and logistics operations on one platform. Here's how it actually compares to a broker-only build like Polt.

Tai TMS is a mature, broker-specific platform. Here's how its pricing, automation and rate intelligence approach compares to Polt's, side by side.

Alvys is known for 120+ integrations and native EDI. Here's how that integration-first approach compares to Polt's centralized data model.

Most brokerages don't need more integrations — they need a platform where the core functions were never disconnected in the first place.

Margin per lane, carrier performance, exception rates — the reporting that drives real decisions shouldn't require a spreadsheet export.

Compare Polt, Tai TMS, Rose Rocket, and Alvys on pricing, automation, integrations, implementation, and freight brokerage fit.

What TMS software for freight brokers does, why most systems are built for shippers or carriers, and what a broker TMS needs to handle.