Every dispatch company offers one of two things: a percentage of what your truck grosses, or a flat weekly fee per truck. Both are defensible. Which one costs you less is a question with an exact answer, and it takes about a minute to work out.
The break-even calculation
Divide the flat weekly fee by the percentage rate. That gives you the weekly gross at which the two models cost exactly the same. Below that number, the percentage is cheaper. Above it, the flat fee is cheaper.
A semi at 7 percent against a flat 300 dollars a week breaks even at roughly 4,286 dollars of weekly gross. Gross 6,000 a week and the percentage costs 420 while the flat costs 300, so the flat fee saves you 120 a week. Gross 3,000 and the percentage costs 210, so the percentage wins.
The part people get wrong
Know exactly what the percentage is calculated on. At Texas Solutions it is weekly gross: the total your truck earns hauling loads that week. Whatever the base, it should be written into the agreement before you start.
Ask the question directly before you sign: what exactly is the percentage calculated on? A clear answer is a good sign about the rest of the relationship.
Why box truck rates run higher
The US market sits between 3 and 10 percent of gross, with 5 to 7 percent typical for semi freight. Box truck, hotshot and sprinter work usually carries a higher percentage, often 10 percent, for a straightforward reason: the loads are smaller, so the same amount of back-office work is spread across a lower gross.
That only makes sense if the fee buys the back office. Load-finding alone at 10 percent is expensive. Load-finding plus broker setups, carrier packets, same-day invoicing, factoring submission and detention claims is a different product at the same number.
A fair comparison checklist
- What is the percentage calculated on, linehaul only or total gross?
- Are broker setups and carrier packets included, or billed separately?
- Who assembles and submits the invoice, and how fast?
- Does anyone file detention, layover and truck-order-not-used claims?
- What is the notice period, and is there a termination fee?
- Is your dispatcher a named person or a rotating pool?
The number to hold on to
Work out your average weekly gross over the last three months, not your best week. Compare both models at that number. Then ask what happens to the fee in a slow week, because a flat fee does not care that the market softened and a percentage does.
We do not offer a flat rate. Our own dispatch fee is a percentage of weekly gross for OTR carriers: 5 to 6 percent for semi trucks and 8 to 10 percent for box trucks, straight trucks and hotshots, with the final percentage discussed with each carrier. The calculator on the dispatch page shows the fee against your actual gross.