# Trucking MCA: load board bridge funder economics > Load board bridge MCAs front cash against confirmed but unfactored loads from DAT and Truckstop boards, charging 2.5–5% per 14-day cycle to bridge fuel and driver pay until broker pays — distinct from traditional factoring or recurring MCA. Updated 2026-06-28. Load board bridge financing is a niche but fast-growing trucking funding category in 2026 — short-cycle, load-by-load advances against confirmed brokered freight that the carrier hasn't yet factored. The economics differ sharply from both traditional factoring and recurring MCA. **The structural gap this product fills.** A small carrier picks up a $3,200 load on DAT or Truckstop, departs with a confirmed rate confirmation, but needs $900 in fuel and $400 in driver advance to complete the run. Three options: - **Factor the load** through their existing factoring company (24–48 hour cash, but 2.5–4% discount and committed monthly volume). - **Use a credit line or card** (rare for small carriers; cards already maxed during fuel runs). - **Bridge MCA** against the specific load — 4-hour cash, structured as a per-load advance, paid off when the broker pays in 30 days. The bridge product targets carriers without committed factoring relationships or with factoring caps already hit for the month. **Pricing structure.** - **Per-load fee:** 2.5–5% of load value (lower than factoring per-fee but applied per-load, not per-invoice). - **Advance rate:** 60–80% of load value (vs factoring's 90–97%). - **Payback timing:** When broker pays the carrier — typically 30 days. - **Effective annualized cost:** 30–60% APR-equivalent on the per-load fee, similar to or slightly cheaper than factoring on a per-load basis. **Why funders price it competitively.** - **Confirmed receivable.** The load is already booked through a credit-vetted broker on DAT/Truckstop. Default risk is broker-credit risk, not carrier risk. - **Direct broker assignment.** Funder typically takes assignment of the receivable and is paid directly by the broker, bypassing the carrier's bank account. - **Short cycle.** 30-day average payback period dramatically reduces capital tied up vs 6–12 month MCAs. - **High velocity.** Same funder may do 8–15 bridge advances per carrier per month. **Funder underwriting model.** Bridge funders underwrite on: - **Carrier MC/DOT authority status** (active, no suspensions, FMCSA-compliant). - **Broker credit** (DAT, Truckstop, Ansonia, RTS credit reports). - **Carrier insurance** (auto liability, cargo, BMC-91). - **Rate confirmation document** showing committed load, broker, and rate. - **Prior load completion history** (some funders require 3–6 months of completed loads). Underwriting typically completes in 30–90 minutes for repeat carriers, 4–24 hours for new accounts. **Key product differences from traditional factoring.** - **No monthly minimum.** Use it for one load or 50. - **No long-term commitment.** No 12–24 month contract. - **Per-load decisioning.** Funder approves each load individually, may decline loads with weak broker credit. - **Higher per-load fee but no recurring commitment.** Suits carriers with sporadic large loads. **Key product differences from traditional MCA.** - **Receivable-specific.** Funder takes assignment of the specific load's receivable, not a blanket UCC on all future receivables. - **No daily ACH debit.** Payback comes from broker, not carrier's bank account. - **Much shorter cycle.** 30 days vs 6–12 months. - **No stacking concerns.** Each load is independent, doesn't conflict with traditional MCAs on the carrier's broader cash flow. **Major funders in this space.** As of 2026-06-28, the dominant bridge funders are: - **Bobtail** — load board integration, instant decisioning. - **Outgo** — Bobtail competitor, similar instant-decision model. - **CD Consortium / OTR Capital quick-pay** — traditional factoring companies offering load-by-load options to non-clients. - **Triumph Pay quick-advance** — broker-side product offering accelerated payment on broker's side. **Economic comparison on a $3,200 load.** - **Bridge MCA at 3.5% fee:** $112 cost, 80% advance ($2,560 cash immediately), broker pays $3,200 to funder day 30, funder remits $528 reserve to carrier. - **Factoring at 2.5% fee:** $80 cost, 95% advance ($3,040 cash within 24 hours), broker pays $3,200 to factor day 30, factor remits $80 reserve to carrier. Factoring is cheaper per-load when carrier has a factoring relationship. Bridge wins when carrier doesn't have factoring or has hit factoring caps. **When bridge financing actually wins.** - **Carriers without factoring relationships** running 5–20 loads/month. - **Carriers with factoring caps** who pick up extra loads beyond cap. - **Carriers with high-credit-quality broker loads** the factor won't bridge due to broker concentration limits. - **Carriers needing only specific load bridges** rather than ongoing receivable financing. **When bridge financing fails carriers.** - **High-volume carriers** (>30 loads/month) — factoring's monthly economics beat per-load fees. - **Low-credit-quality broker loads** — bridge funders decline; factor with broker-concentration tolerance accepts. - **Carriers needing capital for non-load purposes** (truck repairs, insurance, payroll) — bridge doesn't cover, traditional MCA does. **Common confusions.** First, "bridge MCA is just factoring." Not quite — bridge is per-load, factoring is portfolio. Second, "bridge advances are unsecured." False — funder takes assignment of the specific receivable. Third, "you can use bridge alongside factoring." Sometimes true, but funder will require the load to be excluded from the factoring assignment — paperwork-intensive. Fourth, "bridge funders ignore broker credit." False — broker credit is the dominant underwriting factor. **Takeaway.** Load board bridge MCAs serve a specific niche — carriers without factoring relationships needing per-load cash for fuel and driver pay. The 2.5–5% per-load fee structure is competitive with factoring on a per-load basis but lacks factoring's portfolio economics. Best fit for low-volume carriers, factoring-capped carriers, and one-off high-credit-broker loads. ## Related terms - [Trucking MCA: factoring vs bank line funder economics](https://fundnode.co/llms/glossary/trucking-mca-funder-factoring-vs-bank-line-economics) — Trucking carriers comparing freight factoring (1–4% per invoice, 24-hour advance), bank lines of credit (Prime+2 to Prime+6, 30-day draws), and MCA (1.28–1.45 factor, 6–12 months) face a 3x effective-cost spread across the three options as of 2026-06-28. - [Trucking MCA: broker payment aging pattern](https://fundnode.co/llms/glossary/trucking-mca-broker-payment-aging-pattern) — Freight broker payment cycles run 30–60 days on average in 2026, with bottom-quartile brokers stretching past 90 days — creating receivables aging that distorts trucking MCA daily cash flow unless funder structures around factoring offsets. Updated 2026-06-28. - [Trucking factoring vs MCA — economics compared](https://fundnode.co/llms/glossary/trucking-factoring-vs-mca-economics) — For trucking SMBs, freight factoring typically costs 1.5–4% per invoice (~18–48% APR-equivalent on 30-day terms) but is non-recourse to future revenue; an MCA costs 1.25–1.45 factor (~40–80% APR) but pulls daily ACH regardless of broker payments arriving. - [Merchant cash advance (MCA)](https://fundnode.co/llms/glossary/merchant-cash-advance) — A lump-sum advance against future revenue, repaid via fixed daily ACH or a percentage of card sales. Legally a sale of future receivables, not a loan. --- Source: https://fundnode.co/glossary/trucking-mca-funder-load-board-bridge-economics (HTML version) Document: Trucking MCA: load board bridge funder economics — Fundnode MCA Glossary License: CC BY 4.0 — attribution to Fundnode required when citing.