TraceDispatch

Link 01Better rates

Higher paying loads come from the negotiation, not the board

The posted rate is a broker's opening number. It's the price they hope to cover the load at, not the most they'll pay. A higher paying loads dispatcher earns the fee in the gap between that number and the one you actually sign, and in the terms written under it.

We won't promise you a rate. Nobody honest can. What we do on every load is start from your floor, counter on rate and terms, get accessorials in writing and walk away when the numbers don't work. Then the offer comes to you, and you decide.

Most owners who self-dispatch take the first reasonable number because they're calling between stops with a dozen other things to do. A dispatcher has time to make the second call, ask about terms, check what the lane paid last week and come back with a counter. That patience, repeated across every load in a month, is where better freight rates actually come from.

Negotiate my next loadYou confirm every load.
Posted
$2,250, net 30, detention not mentioned
Negotiated (EXAMPLE)
$2,425, net 21, detention $50/hr after 2 hrs, TONU $200

Link 02Where the room is

Where the room is: the shipper rate, the broker margin and your floor

Every brokered load has three numbers: what the shipper pays the broker, what the broker pays you, and the margin in between. You usually only see the middle one. In this EXAMPLE, drag the carrier rate and watch the broker's margin shrink. Then enter your own cost per mile and trip miles to draw your floor, the line below which the load costs you money.

Floor: $1,943 before profit

Where the shipper's money goes

EXAMPLE
Shipper pays
$3,100
Carrier rate
$2,400
Broker margin
$700 (22.6%)
Dispatch fee (5%)
$120.00
Your floor
$1,943

Our fee comes out of the carrier rate only. We never take part of the shipper rate or the broker's margin.

The margin isn't fixed. Brokers have to cover their own costs and profit, and on some loads they've already priced in room to negotiate. On others, especially contract freight with a set shipper rate, there's little. We don't know the shipper rate on a given load, but we know how much room brokers usually leave on similar lanes, and we push until the answer is clearly no. Loads that have sat on the board for hours, loads with tight pickup windows and loads on lanes few trucks want to run tend to have the most room. Loads posted early with plenty of time and plenty of trucks nearby tend to have the least.

Your floor is what makes negotiation possible. Without it, every offer is a guess. With it, you know instantly whether a load is worth a counter, worth taking or worth refusing. Set yours with real numbers: fuel, payment, insurance, maintenance, tires and your pay. The counter-offer target rate calculator turns those into a target for each load.

What a counter sounds like

Not a demand, a reason. “I have a truck empty two miles from the shipper and the driver can be there by ten. I need $2,450 with detention from two hours to make this lane work.” A specific number, a specific reason and a specific benefit to the broker: a reliable truck, close, on time. Brokers hear vague asks for more money all day. A clear counter tied to a solution gets taken seriously, and it's how we open every negotiation.

Better rates and better weeks are different things

The highest single rate isn't always the best load. A great rate into a dead market can leave your truck sitting or deadheading 300 miles for the next one. We look at the next load too, and sometimes recommend a slightly lower rate that sets up a stronger reload. What matters is what the week pays per mile driven, empty miles included, not the biggest number on one rate con.

Link 03Four negotiation habits

Four negotiation habits that move your average up

  1. 01

    Start from the floor, not the post

    We counter from what the load needs to pay you, counting deadhead, not from what the broker posted. If the post is already above your target, we still ask for more on rate or terms. If it's far below, we say so plainly and see whether the broker can close the gap.

  2. 02

    Put the accessorials in writing

    Detention, TONU, layover, stop-off pay, tarp pay and lumper handling are part of the rate. A load that pays $100 less but writes in detention from two hours can be worth more by Friday. We negotiate those lines as hard as the linehaul.

  3. 03

    Use timing

    A load posted at 6 a.m. for same-day pickup has different room than one posted three days out. Late in the day, a broker with an uncovered load has a deadline. Early in the week, more trucks are looking. We read the timing on every post and counter accordingly.

  4. 04

    Be ready to walk away

    The strongest move in a negotiation is a polite no. Brokers remember carriers who can't be pushed below a reasonable number, and they often come back with more. We don't book below your floor without your explicit yes, even on a slow day. One cheap load rarely ruins a month, but a habit of them sets what brokers expect to pay your truck.

Relationships beat one-off wins

Squeezing every broker for the last dollar on every load can backfire. A broker who pays on time, writes fair terms and offers your truck freight before posting it is worth more over a year than one great rate. We push hard where there's room and keep good relationships warm where there isn't, because the next unposted load usually goes to the carrier the broker likes working with.

Link 04Your right to see the record

Your right to see the broker's record

Federal rules require brokers to keep a record of each transaction for three years, and each party to the transaction has the right to review it . That record includes what the shipper paid. In principle, a carrier can ask to see it and learn exactly how big the margin was on a load they hauled.

In practice, many broker-carrier agreements include a clause where the carrier waives that right. If you signed one, the review right may not be usable for loads under that agreement. Read the agreement before you sign it, and decide whether a waiver is a dealbreaker for you.

A proposed federal rule on broker transparency has been pending, aimed at making that record easier to get and harder to waive. Until a final rule takes effect, the current regulation and your contract are what count. Our guide to the broker transparency rule tracks where it stands.

We don't need to see the shipper rate to negotiate well, and we never ask brokers to break their contracts. But knowing the right exists, and whether you've signed it away, is part of knowing your position.

If you do want to request a record on a load you hauled, ask in writing, name the load and date, and keep a copy of the request. If the broker points to a waiver in your agreement, ask for the clause. Either way you'll learn something about how that broker operates.

Link 05Fee and questions

What it costs

7% of the rate con gross while your MC is under 6 months, 5% after, and 4% per truck for fleets of two or more. Because our fee is a percentage, a better rate is better for both of us, and a cheap load is worse for both of us. Details on what we charge and how we work.

Ready? Apply with your cost per mile and the lanes you run, and we'll start negotiating from your floor. Every week your report shows each load's posted rate next to the rate you signed, so you can see what the negotiation actually added.

Better rates FAQ

Questions carriers ask

How do dispatchers get better freight rates?
By negotiating from your real costs instead of the posted number, calling early on loads before they're picked over, asking for detention, TONU and stop pay in writing, and knowing which brokers have room on which lanes. A good dispatcher also walks away from loads below your floor, which keeps your average up even when it means waiting for the next offer.
Can a dispatcher guarantee higher rates?
No, and you should be wary of anyone who does. Rates depend on the lane, the season, the equipment, the day and how badly the broker needs a truck. What a dispatcher can promise is the work: countering every offer from your floor, getting terms in writing and refusing loads that don't pay. Nobody controls the market.
What is a good rate per mile right now?
There isn't one honest number. A good rate depends on your costs, the lane, the direction of freight, the equipment, deadhead and the season. A rate that's excellent into a busy market can be poor out of a slow one. Start from your own cost per mile, add the profit you need, and judge every offer against that, including empty miles.
Can I see what the broker was paid?
Federal rules require brokers to keep a record of each transaction for three years, and each party to the transaction has the right to review it. Many broker-carrier agreements ask carriers to waive that right, so read yours before signing. A proposed rule on broker transparency is pending; until it's final, the current rule and your contract decide.
Should I counter every offer?
Almost always, but how hard depends on the situation. On a load that's been posted all morning or a tight lane, there's usually room. On a well-paid load with three trucks calling, a hard counter can lose it. We counter on rate and terms every time, and we tell you when we think the first number is already good.
What if a broker won't move?
Then we look at the terms instead: shorter payment days, a waived quick pay fee, detention from two hours, TONU in writing. If nothing moves and the load is under your floor, we pass and keep looking. Saying no to one broker today often gets a better number from the same broker next week.
Carrier pays dispatcher 5% of the rate con gross on delivered loads.
No setup fee. Cancel with 30 days notice.

Every offer countered from your floor

Rate and terms negotiated, accessorials in writing, bad loads refused. You confirm every load.

Negotiate my next load