DAT Solutions, originally known as Dial-a-Truck, is a US-based freight exchange service and provider of transportation information serving North America. Freight exchange services are used to match material that needs to be shipped with over-the-road carriers that can be hired to move those loads. DAT was established in 1978 and is part of Roper Technologies.
History
In 1958, Monroe 'Moe' 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. 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. in 1978, the Dial-A-Truck was founded by Moe's son Albin Jubitz, as a subsidiary of the Jubitz Corporation. By the 1980s, DAT monitors were located in hundreds of truck stops around the country, with thousands of truck drivers and shippers subscribing to the load board services. Dial-A-Truck was relabeled as DAT Services in 1989. In 2001, the DAT network was used to mobilize trucks in support of the relief efforts in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
Services and products
Subscribers access the DAT Network's load and truck information via fax, voice, software, mobile, web, or server to server integration, as well as load board monitors at truck stops. The underlying DAT Network is the largest exchange for spot market freight, hosting over 270 million freight loads and trucks per year in the US and Canada. The network consists of several load board subscription services for small to midsize carriers, freight brokers, and shippers. DAT provides real-time truckload freight rate service,, based on $68 billion of transactions annually from actual "broker-buy" rates and shipper-to-carrier contract rates. The company's complex lane and pricing analyses can be used to make truck routing decisions. The company offers other products for carriers, freight brokers, shippers and owner operators, including carrier monitoring, transportation management software, fleet compliance and tracking systems. Additional services include a route optimizationmapping service; weather and road conditions for the U.S. and Canada; postings of available trucks. DAT's data is used by reporters to provide insight into various aspects of the US economy.
Ownership
Jubitz Corporation established DAT Services and maintained ownership through January 2001. TransCore purchased DAT Services in February 2001. TransCore was acquired by Roper Technologies in 2004. In February 2014, DAT split off from TransCore and officially changed its name to DAT Solutions.
