Flatbed dispatch for owner operators.

48 AND 53 FOOT FLATBED TRAILERS

We book freight for flatbed operators running their own authority. 8% of linehaul, nothing taken from your fuel surcharge or your accessorials, and no contract to get out of.

What we book for flatbed

Steel, lumber, pipe, machinery, building materials and construction freight. Rates run above dry van because the work is harder and the driver pool is smaller. It is also more seasonal, and it follows construction, which means the strong markets move through the year rather than staying put.

Tarping is labour and it has a price

Two hours strapping and tarping in the rain is not part of the linehaul. It is an accessorial with its own line, and operators who bill it consistently are not being difficult, they are being paid for work they did. We put it on the rate confirmation before you roll, because raising it afterwards almost never works.

Securement is where inspections are lost

Your aggregate working load limit has to total at least half the weight of the cargo. That is the number that matters, and it is not the breaking strength on the packaging. Worth remembering that a tiedown is only rated as strong as the weakest part of it, including the anchor point, so a heavy chain on a light stake pocket insert is rated at the insert.

Deadhead hurts more here

Flatbed freight clusters around mills, yards and job sites rather than spreading evenly like van freight. That means longer empty runs if the week is planned badly. Your rate per running mile, counting the empty, is the only number that tells you whether a load was worth taking.