Traditional freight brokers are humans on the phone — call-center operations matching loads to carriers based on their book of relationships. The model has run since the 1980s.
If you ship oversize / project / hazmat — a great agent earns their margin. If you ship dry van or reefer on the I-35 / I-95 / I-80 / I-10 corridors, a flat 5% software broker beats the spread by 50–80%.
Industry-average broker spread is 13–25% of load value, per FreightWaves rate surveys. The spread is the difference between what the shipper pays the broker and what the broker pays the carrier — typically not itemised on the rate confirmation. GetHaulDirect's flat 5%, disclosed line-item, replaces that spread.
Traditional brokerages run on people-cost — agents on the phone matching loads through their relationship book. The 13–25% margin pays for the headcount and the carrier-relationship development. A digital broker like GetHaulDirect routes loads algorithmically through a verified carrier network, which is structurally cheaper to operate; the savings get priced into the 5% flat fee.
Specialty freight where relationships matter more than software: oversize / overweight permits, hazmat with specific carrier endorsements, refrigerated produce on regulated lanes, project moves with non-standard requirements. For standard dry van and reefer on the I-35 / I-95 / I-80 / I-10 corridors, a software broker outperforms.