Empty truck problem is a costly logistics problem which many companies have faced. The collaboration among competitors providing logistic solutions is very difficult and might not take place at all without support and intervention by the government. This study addresses the horizontal transportation collaboration (among competitors) that has been initiated by a government agency. A survey of two groups of “would be” collaborators--shippers and carriers--using convenient sampling scheme was carried out with a total of 31 responses. The study was designed to explore partner selection criteria during its formation stage and explore the related design factors of an inter-organizational system (IOS) that support trust among these collaborators. The result includes a comparison of the pre- and post- exposures to the IOS paper-based prototype which has incorporated some theoretically desirable features of collaboration. The results show positive relationships between direct prior alliance experience and some elements of trust and also between commitment and trusting intention in potential partners.