Dial-a-truck

Dial-a-Truck (or DAT) is an electronic freight posting service serving North America. It was the first system of its kind and established in 1978.^{[citation needed]}

Before the service, truck drivers seeking loads left handwritten notes on a bulletin board at the Jubitz Truck Stop in Portland, Oregon, U.S. for shippers and freight brokers seeking truckers to move their freight. Jubitz began posting the loads on a monitor at the truck stop and charging drivers a fee for the phone number of the company wanting to move freight. By 2001, there were 1200 load monitors in the United States powered by DAT Services. Subscribers access DAT Network’s freight load and truck information via fax, voice, or Internet, as well as load board monitors at truck stops.

On February 3, 2001, TransCore, a unit of Roper Industries, acquired DAT and is now known by the names of its subscription services, which include 3sixty Freight Match, 3sixty Express, TruckersEdge, DAT Connect and DAT Partners. The underlying DAT Network has remained a major freight marketplace, hosting 50 million freight loads and trucks per year.^{[citation needed]}

History

In 1958, Monroe Jubitz, opened Fleet Leasing, Inc., a full-service truck leasing and maintenance company in Portland, Oregon. Moe expanded to provide fuel, food, and accommodations to truckers on the road, the origin of Jubitz Truck Stop. The trucking industry was deregulated in the 1970s, encouraging independent truck drivers and small companies to find extra loads rather than returning empty. Mr. Jubitz noticed drivers hanging around his truck stop after the usual meal and shower, hoping to find a load. So he decided to start signing up brokers and shippers who needed freight hauled from Portland. Al Jubitz founded DAT (originally called Dial-A-Truck) in 1978, a subsidiary of the Jubitz Corporation.

He listed the loads on a monitor at his truck stop and charged the drivers a fee to get the phone number of the company wanting to move the freight. By the 1980s, DAT monitors could be found in hundreds of truck stops around the country, with thousands of truck drivers and shippers subscribing.

The 26-acre (11 ha) Jubitz Travel Center was named World's Classiest Truck Stop in 2003 by the Travel Channel.^{[citation needed]} In 2009, it was ranked 66th by Oregon Business out of Oregon's top 150 private companies.^[1]

On February 3, 2001, TransCore acquired DAT Services, including the 1200 truck stop monitors where drivers could find loads while on the road.

References

1. ^ [1]

External links

• Jubitz Corporate Web Site
• TransCore Commercial Services Web Site
• TruckersEdge Owner-Operator Load Board
• 3sixty Express - Broker/Fleet Load Board