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A full week after floodwaters from Hurricane Helene washed out stretches of I-40 and I-26 and left mountain towns in Western North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia cut off from the world, truckers began to notice something: No Federal Emergency Management Agency loads posted on load boards. 

Indeed, trucking activity in the region screeched to a halt during the storm, but FEMA reports plenty of movement there. 

“More than 5,000 personnel from across the federal workforce are deployed, including more than 1,500 from FEMA,” the agency said. “To date, FEMA has shipped over 9.3 million meals, more than 11.2 million liters of water, 150 generators and more than 260,000 tarps to the region.”

According to FEMA, the agency does not post its freight on load boards, and instead has pre-approved carriers and brokers that get the freight directly. 

“FEMA uses contractors registered in the federal government’s System for Award Management,” a FEMA representative noted. “Drivers won’t see loads specific to FEMA on load boards unless the trucking company is contracted through the federal government.”

The FEMA rep said that some loads might end up on load boards, but wouldn’t be posted by FEMA or necessarily posted in any way that indicates it’s a FEMA load. Instead, it might appear to just have been posted by the broker or 3PL that’s contracted with FEMA. 

FEMA pointed to the SAMS.gov website, which “allows businesses to register for free to do business with the federal government.”

FEMA did not respond to queries about whether the agency had ever posted to a load board before, or about how many truckloads of supplies they might need for the relief efforts. 

Truckstop confirmed that the only way to really see FEMA loads would be going straight to FEMA through its established channels. “If carriers are interested in doing business with FEMA, they must register for the FEMA Tender of Service program during an open onboarding period,” a Truckstop representative said, citing a conversation with the agency. The next open onboarding period is in February/March of 2025, they added.  

Brent Hutto, Chief Relationship Officer for Truckstop, detailed the dynamics of how those loads move. 

“FEMA loads are exclusively handled by carriers and brokers registered with FEMA, and due to high demand, these loads are quickly claimed through the brokers’ private networks,” Hutto said. “As a result, they rarely need to be posted on load boards.”  

Truckstop also has a blog on the topic. 

[Related: Study shows how carriers step up in crisis situations]

A spokesperson for DAT, the other big load board player, described much the same situation.

“While FEMA loads can be posted on our load board, many freight brokers, including some of the largest 3PLs, help move and warehouse emergency freight,” said the DAT rep. “They may be handling this work on behalf of FEMA or for a non-governmental agency like the American Red Cross. Most of these loads move via preferred carriers and are not on the spot market. However, widespread disruptions can result in an increase in demand for trucks to move regular stock — groceries, building supplies, etc.”

DAT’s Chief of Analytics Ken Adamo offered an animated GIF showing the change in truck movement in the region after the storm. 

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