Route and freight types

Flatbed

Flatbed trucking hauls freight on an open deck — steel, lumber, machinery, building materials — which the driver must secure with chains, straps and tarps. It is more physical and more skilled than van freight, generally pays a premium, and has its own experience requirements.

Why it matters when hiring drivers

Flatbed recruiting is a specialist search wearing a generalist's clothes. A dry-van driver with years of experience may have never thrown a tarp, and securement mistakes are expensive and dangerous. Fleets hiring flatbed need screening that asks about securement and open-deck experience specifically — not "years of driving."

Interview questions adapt to the position, so a flatbed opening screens for flatbed experience.