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Message a carrier before they bid

Open any suggested carrier on the Coverage tab and send a message. The chat starts when you send, and the carrier sees your posting with it.

Broker
Updated
October 1, 2026

You can message a suggested carrier from your posting's Coverage tab before they bid. Click the carrier, type your message and click Send. The chat starts with that first message.

Chat is still reaching every carrier. If you see Chat is currently in beta and only available to select carriers. where the message box should be, you cannot message that carrier yet.

Step 1: Open the carrier

On the posting, open Coverage and click a carrier in the list. The right side can show why Cargado suggested them, and shows a gray card with the posting details and your custom message, if you wrote one. See Who are my suggested carriers?

Step 2: Check who will see it

The faces at the top are the carrier's people in this chat, up to five. A green dot means that person is online now. Click a face to see that person's profile. To see everyone, click the people count in the chat header to open People in this chat.

The carrier's side is set by Cargado. Your side is yours to change: click Add member to add a teammate, or remove a teammate who does not need to be there. Add member shows only when your company has other members on Cargado.

Step 3: Send your first message

Type in the box that says Message plus the carrier's name, then click Send. The first message is text only. Once the chat exists, you can attach files.

Good first messages ask one thing the carrier can answer fast:

  • Do you have a truck near the pickup on these dates?
  • Do you run this lane every week? We have steady volume.
  • Send me your best rate and I can confirm today.

There is no button to message every carrier at once. Write one note and send it to each carrier you want.

Step 4: Keep the conversation going

  • When a carrier replies, their row on Coverage moves up, with the name in bold and a red dot until you read it.
  • Type @ and a name to mention a teammate. On a computer with notifications turned on, a mention sends them a desktop notification even if they do not follow that chat closely.
  • Messages can be translated. Use Show original and Show translated to switch between the two.
  • If the carrier bids, the bid shows in the same chat, and you answer it there. See Work your bids.

Phone numbers and emails wait for a match

Until a rate on the posting is accepted, Cargado blocks messages that contain phone numbers, email addresses or other outside contact details. If yours is blocked, open Message Blocked and choose Edit Message or Delete. After a rate is accepted, the block lifts in the chat with that carrier. See After a match.

Tip: Carriers can message you first from your posting. Their chat shows up in Coverage the same way.

Still stuck?

Email us and a person on our team will answer. Send the posting link or a screenshot if you have one.

carriers@cargado.comfor carrierssuccess@cargado.comfor brokers and shippers

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