What Cargado's matching engine looks at when it notifies carriers, and the fixes that bring bids back.
Broker
Updated
September 21, 2026
A posting with zero bids almost always has a cause you can find and fix. Cargado notifies carriers automatically based on how your posting matches their profile, so the fastest way back to bids is checking what that match looks at.
What decides who gets notified
When you post, Cargado checks it against every carrier profile in real time: trailer type, origin and destination down to city, state, market and border zone, the border crossing, and any carrier requirements you turned on, such as CTPAT, FAST, PIP, bonding, a cargo insurance minimum, or hazmat. A carrier is notified only if their profile clears all of these. A carrier who has not set a preference on one still passes it, so an empty profile field never blocks a match on its own.
Cargado suggests carriers from their preferred lanes, available trucks and service areas.
When no carrier fits the lane and requirements, the panel says so.
Your Coverage panel on the posting shows the result: a ranked list of suggested carriers, the ones matching found for that lane. No suggested carriers means that check found nobody who fits as posted, which is the clearest sign something on the posting is too narrow.
Every requirement box narrows who hears about it
Checking a requirement does not stop a carrier from bidding if they find your posting on their own; it is a nudge at bid time, not a hard block. But it takes that carrier out of the pool Cargado notifies automatically. Check only what the shipper actually requires. It is the biggest lever on a quiet posting, because a box checked "to be safe" quietly shrinks the list of carriers who hear about your freight.
Each box you check removes every carrier that does not hold it.
Fixes you control
The live checklist in Part 3 · Post it right covers the fast version. A few of those fixes, in more detail:
Target rate. Your target does not change who gets notified. Matching runs on equipment, location, crossing and requirements only. If you turned on Instant Response, the target decides what happens to each bid: at or under it, the bid is accepted instantly. Above it, Cargado counters it, rejects it or passes it to you, depending on where it sits against the market band. A target far below the band means more carriers get countered or turned away before you see them, so set it inside the band.
Recurring freight posted as a Load. A Load comes down the moment you accept a bid, so reposting the same freight as a fresh Load restarts matching from zero each time. A Lane stays live after a match, so you can book more than one carrier off it.
Old bids left unanswered. Carriers who get no response stop bidding on your next posting too. Accept, counter or reject every bid the same day.
Timing. Post as early as the freight is real. A posting that closes within hours gives carriers no room to plan.
Message suggested carriers. The Coverage panel's list is not just a status readout; message three to five as soon as you post, and message more than one, since some are already booked for the week.
When carriers still don't answer chat
A quiet thread does not always mean a carrier ignored you.
Give them enough to answer with: lane, pickup date, equipment, crossing and your rate. A number gets a reply where "are you interested?" does not.
Message a bidder directly from the bid list, without accepting, to send extra detail or ask for a sharper rate.
Counter a high bid instead of letting it sit. Silence trains a carrier to stop bidding your freight.
Keep it in Chat, not WhatsApp or a call. Chat translates both directions automatically and keeps the whole conversation on the posting.
Still quiet on a well-built posting? Send your success manager the link, your target versus the band, and who you messaged.
Still stuck?
Email us and a person on our team will answer. Send the posting link or a screenshot if you have one.
