Tarping is labour, and labour is billable
Tarp pay is a separate line, not a rounding error. A four-tarp steel load is real physical work and should be priced as such.
Flatbed dispatch
Flatbed dispatch services: securement screened, tarp pay negotiated as a line item
Steel, building materials and machinery. Securement knowledge and tarp pay negotiated as a line item, not an afterthought.
- Typical market range $2.85 – $3.45 per mile
- Common lane: Houston ↔ Oklahoma City
- Common lane: Birmingham → Chicago
The short answer
How does flatbed dispatch actually work?
Flatbed dispatch lives or dies on what gets negotiated before you accept. Tarping is hours of physical work that many carriers give away for free. MSM Transit verifies securement and tarp requirements pre-book and negotiates tarp pay and extra-stop pay as separate line items, not goodwill.
What moves the rate Broker Negotiation Get rates for your lanes
Who we dispatch: 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 included. Not a fit: sprinter vans, cargo vans and 16 ft box trucks.
What we handle
The details that decide whether a flatbed load is worth taking.
Every equipment type has a handful of factors that separate a profitable load from a bad one. These are the ones we screen before a load reaches you.
- Securement and tarping requirements verified pre-book
- Tarp pay and extra-stop pay negotiated separately
- Construction-season regional strategy
Typical market range
Flatbed rate per mile
$2.85 – $3.45typical market range, all miles
Where a specific load lands inside that range is decided by the things above: the lane, the season, the reload, and who is negotiating. Check a specific lane, or send us the load.
An estimate to orient you, not a quote and not a promise.
What moves a flatbed rate
Three things that decide what this freight pays
Generic dispatch treats every trailer the same. These are the flatbed-specific factors we argue on, load by load.
Securement determines legality
Working load limits, chain grade and the number of tie-downs are not preferences, they are 49 CFR 393. We verify securement requirements before accepting, not at the shipper.
Load-out access
Some yards will not load without a forklift operator on shift, or need overhead crane access. A four-hour wait for a crane is a lost day if nobody checked.
Lanes we work for flatbed
Representative corridors for this equipment — the kind of lanes a strategy for it is built around.
- Houston ↔ Oklahoma City
- Birmingham → Chicago
- Pittsburgh ↔ Detroit
- Portland → Salt Lake City
Seasonality
Follows construction — strongest March through October, sharply weaker through the northern winter. Southern lanes hold up better in Q1.
What we watch for on flatbed loads: Dimensions given as "about". Get exact length, width, height and weight. An extra four inches of width is the difference between legal and a permit load.
Services applied
How we dispatch flatbed freight
The same services every carrier gets — but these three are the ones that decide a flatbed account.
Broker Negotiation
We pair this with flatbed because tarp pay is negotiated, never volunteered.
How it worksSafety & Compliance
We pair this with flatbed for securement standards that survive an inspection.
How it worksTruck Dispatch
We pair this with flatbed to screen securement requirements before you accept.
How it worksWorth reading alongside this: Six broker negotiation scripts that raise your rate without losing the load.
Flatbed vs step deck: which pays more? · What is a Conestoga trailer?
60-second request
Get flatbed lane rates for your market
Tell us where you run. We will send the current booked ranges for your lanes.
Other equipment
We dispatch mixed fleets too.
Running more than one trailer type is normal. One account, one dispatcher, one invoice — with the right playbook applied to each truck.
Terms
How flatbed dispatch with us works, in plain terms
The same terms for every equipment type. Compare them line by line with any dispatcher you are considering.
| 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.
Free dispatch audit
Let's price your flatbed lanes.
Send your last 10 flatbed loads. We will show you the rate we would have negotiated on each one, and where dimensions given as "about". Get exact length, width, height…
- Reply within 1 business hour
- First load usually booked in 24 hours
- Cancel with 15 days notice, any time