Load Planning Manager

Position Summary

The Load Planning Manager is responsible for maximizing the revenue, profitability, and utilization of the companys asset-based fleet. This position oversees the strategic planning of loads, equipment, and driver capacity to ensure trucks are consistently positioned for the most profitable freight while minimizing empty miles, downtime, and avoidable operational risk. This is not a traditional dispatch position. The Load Planning Manager is expected to think 24–72 hours ahead and determine the most profitable executable next move for every truck.

• Develop daily and 24–72-hour load plans for the entire fleet.
• Ensure every truck has a planned next move whenever possible before completing its current load.
• Establish and maintain fleet preplanning standards, including the percentage of tractors preplanned before delivery and average hours of forward planning visibility.
• Maximize revenue and contribution profit per tractor, per day, and per total mile.
• Reduce empty/deadhead miles and unnecessary repositioning while recognizing when strategic repositioning creates a more profitable overall move.
• Identify and build continuous moves, reloads, round trips, backhauls, and other network-density opportunities.
• Position trucks strategically based on customer demand, freight availability, lane strength, seasonality, historical performance, and current market conditions.
• Monitor spot-market and customer rate trends, inbound/outbound market balance, and lane performance to
• Identify trucks at risk of sitting and develop immediate solutions before service or utilization is impacted.
• Analyze loads based on total profitability, including revenue, loaded miles, empty miles, fuel, driver cost, driver hours, appointment requirements, and next-load opportunities.
• Ensure load plans are operationally executable within driver HOS, appointment requirements, home-time commitments, equipment restrictions, and other known operational constraints.
• Balance the fleet network by identifying equipment surplus and deficit markets and developing repositioning strategies that improve future freight opportunities.
• Continuously re-plan when disruptions occur, including breakdowns, delays, rejected loads, detention, missed appointments, driver refusals, weather, customer cancellations, or other operational exceptions.
• Work closely with Dispatch to execute the daily plan and hold the operation accountable for results.
• Work with Sales to identify customers, lanes, and freight that improve network density and profitability.
• Work with Brokerage to determine when company assets should be utilized versus outside capacity.
• Identify underperforming customers, lanes, and freight and recommend corrective action.
• Analyze fleet performance and provide Senior Leadership with actionable recommendations and root-cause analysis.
• Conduct daily fleet planning reviews and establish consistent planning standards across the operation.

The Load Planning Manager owns fleet planning strategy. Dispatch owns driver communication and execution.

Material deviations from the approved load plan should be communicated, documented, and justified. The Load Planning Manager is responsible for evaluating the financial and network impact of significant deviations and adjusting the forward plan accordingly.

• Loaded-mile percentage
• Trucks sitting without freight
• Percentage of tractors preplanned before delivery
• Reload / continuous-move percentage
• Planning adherence and execution against the approved plan

• 5+ years of transportation experience preferred.
• Strong asset-based trucking experience required.
• Load planning,…