What exactly is the fee charged on?
Percentage dispatchers commonly quote somewhere in the 5–10% range, but the number alone tells you little. The same percentage charged on linehaul only and charged on the whole invoice — fuel surcharge, detention, layover, TONU, tarp pay — are different deals. Flat weekly fees exist too; they are predictable, but you pay them in a week the truck sits. Ask for the fee basis in writing, and work out what you would have paid on your last ten loads under each model. Our guide to dispatch pricing walks through the arithmetic.
Do you take a cut of accessorials?
Detention, layover, TONU, lumper reimbursements and tarp pay are money you earned by waiting, working or being cancelled on. Ask directly whether the percentage applies to them, and make sure the answer is in the agreement rather than in a sales call. While you are at it, ask who chases them: an accessorial nobody invoices is worth nothing to either of you. Our guide to accessorial pay covers what you are owed.
How do I leave if it is not working?
Look for the notice period, any cancellation fee, and anything that survives the contract — a non-compete on brokers you already worked with, for example. A dispatcher confident in its results rarely needs a long lock-in. Read the termination clause before the fee clause.
Do I approve every load?
Forced dispatch means loads are booked onto your truck without your say. The agreement should state plainly that you can decline any load without penalty. Ask what happens if you decline three in a row — the answer tells you how the relationship actually works.
Will I see the full rate confirmation?
The load is between your company and the broker. You should see every rate confirmation in full, and payment should come from the broker to you or your factoring company. A dispatcher who hides the rate confirmation, asks the broker to pay it, or takes its fee out of the broker’s payment is a warning sign.
Is this a dispatcher or an unlicensed broker?
Federal rules describe a carrier’s bona fide agent as someone who works under the carrier’s directions, under a pre-existing agreement, without discretion to allocate traffic between that carrier and others (49 CFR 371.2). A “dispatcher” who takes money from brokers or shippers, or decides which of several carriers gets a load, may be acting as a broker without broker authority. Ask how they are paid and by whom.
Who is my dispatcher, and how many trucks do they run?
Your rate depends on one person working your lanes while you drive. Ask how many trucks that person handles, whether you will speak to the same dispatcher each time, and who answers at night and on weekends. Ask to talk to them before you sign.
Do you know my equipment?
Flatbed securement and tarp pay, reefer pre-cooling, step deck height limits, heavy-haul permits — each equipment type has its own ways to lose money. Ask specific questions about yours, and ask for references from carriers running the same trailer.
How we answer these questions
Our answers are in the table below, and every one of them is in our written agreement. If a dispatcher — including us — will not put an answer in writing, treat that as the answer.
How MSM Transit answers these questions
| MSM Transit | |
|---|---|
| How you are charged | A percentage of gross on the loads we book, quoted for your operation in writing before you sign |
| Accessorials | Not commissioned. Detention, layover, TONU and other accessorial pay is yours |
| Setup fee | None |
| Monthly minimum | None. If your truck does not run in a week, that week is not billed |
| Loads you find yourself | Not billed |
| Contract | Week to week; either side can end it with 15 days written notice |
| Forced dispatch | Never. You approve every load before it is booked |
| Your broker relationships | Stay yours, including if you leave |
| Trucks per dispatcher | No more than 4 |
| Hours | Desk staffed 24/7, including nights, weekends and holidays |
| Reporting | A written scorecard every week |
| Authority | We work under your operating authority. We are not a broker and not a carrier |
| Equipment and size | Dry Van, Reefer, Flatbed, Step Deck, Conestoga, Power Only, Hotshot, Box Truck, RGN / Lowboy and Heavy Haul, every rig longer than 26 ft |
| New authorities | Welcome, on the same size rule |
| Not a fit | Sprinter vans, cargo vans and 16 ft box trucks |
| Coverage | All 48 US states and all 10 Canadian provinces |
The percentage itself is quoted for your operation, in writing, before you sign.
If you want this handled rather than researched: truck dispatch and broker negotiation.
Worth reading next: Six broker negotiation scripts that raise your rate without losing the load, and Seven clauses in your factoring contract that quietly cost you money.
Unfamiliar with a term used above? The trucking glossary defines the words brokers, dispatchers and auditors actually use.
Want a straight answer about your own operation? Send your last ten loads. We will tell you what we would have done differently — including "nothing, you are doing fine", when that is the honest answer. Book a free audit, or read who runs the desk first.
Sources and further reading
This site publishes no performance statistics of its own, because none could be independently verified. Where a fact is checkable, here is where to check it — primary sources, not summaries of summaries.
- eCFR — 49 CFR 371.2: Definitions (broker, bona fide agent) — Where the line between a carrier’s agent and a broker is drawn.
- eCFR — 49 CFR 371.3: Records to be kept by brokers — Each party to a brokered transaction may review the broker’s record of it.
Regulations, fees and processing times change. Verify current requirements directly with the issuing agency rather than relying on any third-party summary, including this one.