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Level 1: Getting started · Lesson 5 of 17

The life of a load

A load starts as a tender: a shipper or broker offers it to your carrier with a pickup, a delivery and a rate. When the carrier accepts, a broker sends a rate confirmation (rate con), the contract for that load: the pay, the times, the reference numbers and any special rules.

Pickups and deliveries are either by appointment or first come, first served (FCFS). Some are live loads, where the driver waits while the trailer is loaded, and some are drop and hook, where the driver drops an empty trailer and leaves with a loaded one. Drop and hook is much faster, so drivers love it.

At pickup the driver gets the bill of lading (BOL), the paper that says what was loaded, how much and for whom. On a sealed trailer, the seal number goes on the BOL, and the driver should never break a seal. At delivery, the receiver signs the BOL, which becomes the proof of delivery (POD). No POD, no invoice, no money.

Things that cost extra are called accessorials. Detention is pay for waiting too long, usually after 2 free hours at the dock. Layover is pay when a delay pushes a delivery to the next day. A lumper is a third-party crew a receiver uses to unload, paid by the carrier or driver and reimbursed with the receipt. TONU means truck ordered, not used: the load was cancelled after the truck showed up. Stop-off pay covers extra pickups or drops.

Accessorials only get paid if they're documented: arrival and departure times, the receipt, the reference number, the name of the person who approved it. Teach your drivers to send this the moment it happens, and send it on to billing yourself. Money you didn't document is money the carrier and often the driver never see.

On the desk

A driver arrives at the receiver and they say they'll sign the paperwork 'later, after we count it.' Why does this matter to you?

More info

Terms in this lesson

TenderAn offer of a load to a carrier.
Rate confirmationA broker's written contract for one load: rate, times, rules.
Live load / unloadThe driver waits while the trailer is loaded or unloaded.
Drop and hookDrop one trailer, pick up another and go.
BOLBill of lading: what was shipped. Signed at delivery, it's the POD.
PODProof of delivery: needed to invoice.
DetentionPay for waiting at a dock past the free time, usually 2 hours.
LayoverPay when a delay pushes the driver to the next day.
LumperA third-party unloading crew, reimbursed with a receipt.
TONUTruck ordered, not used: a fee when a load is cancelled after dispatch.
AccessorialAny charge beyond the line-haul rate.

The scenario answers

  1. A driver arrives at the receiver and they say they'll sign the paperwork 'later, after we count it.' Why does this matter to you? Without a signed BOL (proof of delivery), the carrier can't bill the load. The signed BOL is the proof of delivery. Billing needs it to get paid. The driver should wait for it, or get the signature with any shortage or damage noted.
  2. A driver arrived on time at 8 a.m. and wasn't unloaded until 1 p.m. The customer pays detention after 2 free hours. How many hours of detention should be billed? 3. Five hours at the dock minus 2 free hours is 3 hours of detention. It only gets paid if the arrival and departure times are documented.
  3. A receiver tells the driver they use a third-party crew to unload and it'll be $250. What should the driver do? Pay with the approved method and send you the receipt right away. That's a lumper fee. It's normal at many grocery warehouses. The driver pays the approved way (often a fuel-card check or code from your office) and the receipt gets billed back to the customer.
  4. Your driver drives 70 miles empty to a shipper, and at the gate they say the load was cancelled. What should you ask the broker for? A TONU (truck ordered, not used). A TONU is a flat fee for showing up to a load that was cancelled. It should be in the rate con, and you want it in writing.
  5. A driver picks up a sealed trailer. What should happen with the seal? The driver checks the number matches the BOL and leaves it on. The seal number goes on the BOL and the seal stays on until the receiver opens it. A broken or wrong seal can mean the whole load gets refused.

General training, not legal or compliance advice. Rules are the US federal ones (FMCSA) as of 2026; check the current text and your company’s policies.