Glossary
Freight dispatch glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms behind every load decision — the same concepts you practice in LoadMerit Academy.
- Accessorial
- An added charge beyond linehaul — lumper, detention, layover, tarping, or stop-offs. Unconfirmed accessorials add risk.
- Example: A $150 lumper fee is an accessorial you want the broker to cover.
- Backhaul
- A load that gets you back toward home or a strong freight market after a delivery, reducing wasted deadhead.
- Example: Taking a slightly lower backhaul to avoid running 200 empty miles home.
- Full guide: Reducing deadhead: backhauls and positioning →
- Broker
- A licensed intermediary who arranges freight between shippers and carriers. You haul for the broker; LoadMerit is not a broker.
- Example: Booking a load posted by a freight broker you found on a load board.
- Full guide: Freight broker red flags: spot a bad load early →
- Counteroffer
- A higher rate you propose to the broker, derived from your minimum acceptable rate plus risk and accessorial adjustments.
- Example: If your minimum is $668, a counteroffer might round up to $700.
- Full guide: Building a freight counteroffer that holds up →
- Deadhead
- Unpaid miles driven empty to reach the pickup. Deadhead lowers your effective RPM without adding revenue.
- Example: Driving 60 empty miles to a pickup is 60 deadhead miles.
- Full guide: Deadhead and fuel math: the hidden cost per mile →
- Deadhead percentage
- Deadhead miles as a share of total miles. The higher it is, the more empty driving you are absorbing.
- Example: 20 deadhead of 260 total miles is about 8% deadhead.
- Detention
- Pay owed when you're held at a shipper or receiver beyond the free loading/unloading window. It compensates for time you can't use to run other freight.
- Example: Two hours free, then $50/hour detention — confirmed on the rate con before you commit.
- Full guide: Detention and accessorial pay →
- Effective RPM
- Revenue per mile counting all miles you actually drive, including deadhead: offered rate divided by total miles. This is the metric that matters most.
- Example: That same $900 load with 20 deadhead miles (260 total) is $3.46 effective RPM.
- Full guide: Loaded RPM vs. effective RPM →
- Factoring
- Selling your freight invoices to a factoring company for immediate cash, for a fee, instead of waiting for the broker to pay.
- Example: Factoring a $1,000 invoice at 3% to get $970 now rather than in 30 days.
- Flatbed
- An open-deck trailer for oversized, building-material, or machinery freight. It usually requires load securement and often tarping.
- Example: Hauling steel on a flatbed with chains, straps, and tarps.
- Fuel surcharge
- An add-on meant to offset fuel cost, sometimes baked into the line-haul rate and sometimes listed separately. Either way, the all-in rate has to cover today's fuel.
- Example: When diesel spikes, your minimum acceptable rate rises even if the posted rate doesn't.
- Layover
- Being held overnight or longer between pickup and delivery. Like detention, it ties up your truck and should be compensated.
- Example: A Friday delivery that can't unload until Monday — that's a layover you should be paid for.
- Linehaul
- The base pay for moving freight from origin to destination, before any accessorials like detention or lumper fees.
- Example: A $1,000 linehaul rate plus $150 in confirmed accessorials.
- Loaded RPM
- Revenue per mile counting only the paid, loaded miles: offered rate divided by loaded miles.
- Example: A $900 load over 240 loaded miles is $3.75 loaded RPM.
- Lumper
- A third-party crew that loads or unloads freight, common at grocery and food warehouses. The fee should be reimbursed by the broker, ideally up front.
- Example: A $150 lumper fee you pay at the dock and get back from the broker with a receipt.
- Minimum acceptable rate
- The lowest total pay that still protects both your target RPM and your minimum profit. The engine uses the higher of the two floors.
- Example: If the target-RPM floor is $520 and the profit floor is $668, your minimum acceptable rate is $668.
- Full guide: Setting your minimum acceptable rate →
- Operating cost per mile
- Your all-in cost to run one mile — fuel, maintenance, insurance, payments, and overhead. Used to estimate gross profit.
- Example: At $1.80/mi over 260 miles, operating cost is about $468.
- Full guide: Calculating your true cost per mile →
- Quick pay
- An option to get paid by the broker faster than standard terms, usually for a small percentage fee.
- Example: Taking 2% quick pay to get funded in two days instead of waiting 30.
- Rate confirmation
- The written agreement (“rate con”) that states the rate, lane, appointments, and accessorial terms for a load. It's your record of what was promised.
- Example: Getting detention and lumper terms in writing on the rate con, not just verbally.
- Full guide: Reading a rate confirmation →
- Reefer
- A refrigerated trailer that holds a set temperature for perishable freight. It adds fuel use, strict temp requirements, and tighter delivery windows.
- Example: Hauling produce at 34°F on a reefer with a hard delivery appointment.
- Full guide: Reefer loads: what to watch for →
- Risk score
- A 0–100 estimate of how much a load threatens your calculated profit, built from weighted factors. It's a tool estimate, not verified market or broker data.
- Example: A clean, profitable load might score 15; a deadhead-heavy load with vague detention might score 60.
- Stop pay
- Extra pay for each additional pickup or delivery beyond the first. Multi-stop loads add handling time that the line-haul rate alone usually doesn't cover.
- Example: A three-stop load with $50 per extra stop added to the rate.
- Target effective RPM
- The per-mile rate you aim to clear on a load, after deadhead. It's your personal benchmark, not a market figure.
- Example: Setting a target of $2.00/mi and passing on loads that fall well below it.
- Tarping
- Covering flatbed freight with tarps to protect it from weather. It's physical, time-consuming work that should be reflected in the rate.
- Example: A steel coil load that requires tarping before you leave the yard.
LoadMerit does not guarantee income, employment, carrier clients, broker relationships, freight availability, load acceptance, business success, or profitable outcomes. Any examples, scenarios, or calculations are illustrative and depend on user-entered assumptions and changing real-world conditions.