ENTRY 01 / FLATBED DISPATCH
Flatbed dispatch that knows what is on your deck
On a flatbed, the gear you carry decides the freight you can haul, and the extras on the rate con decide what the load really pays. Our flatbed dispatch starts with your straps, chains, tarps and racks, books freight you are set up to secure, and gets tarp pay, TONU and layover written in before you sign. You approve every load.
- 5% of gross
- Tarp pay on the rate con
- You sign every load
National flatbed average in August 2026: about $3.54 a mile all-in, including the average fuel surcharge (DAT).
ENTRY 02 / GEAR LEDGER
Tick what you carry. See the freight it opens.
A flatbed dispatcher who doesn't know your gear will send you loads you can't secure. Tick what is on the truck today. The ledger shows which freight types that gear opens, so you can see what one more set of tarps or a coil rack would add.
FLATBED GEAR LEDGER
Straps and edge protection cover most lumber and building materials. Chains and binders open steel and machinery. Tarps open the large share of freight that has to stay dry, and tarped loads usually pay extra for the time it takes.
Coil racks open steel coils, which need specific securement. Oversize flags and a banner are the start of light oversize work, which has its own permits and rules.
We record your gear on the first call and only send loads you can legally and safely secure. If a broker's description doesn't match what you carry, we ask before the rate con is written.
ENTRY 03 / ON THE RATE CON, NOT AFTER
Flatbed extras belong on the rate con
Flatbed money leaks through extras nobody wrote down: a tarp that took an hour, a load cancelled when you were already at the gate, a second stop that wasn't mentioned. A flatbed dispatch service earns its fee by getting these on paper before you sign, because after delivery they are just arguments.
- Tarp pay. A separate line for tarped loads, and which tarps are required.
- TONU. Truck order not used: what you are paid if the load is cancelled after you are dispatched.
- Layover. Pay for an overnight wait when the shipper or receiver isn't ready.
- Extra stops. Every stop listed with its own pay.
- Detention. Free time and hourly rate at pickup and delivery.
- Load details. Weight, dimensions, piece count and how it is loaded, so you can plan securement before you arrive.
ENTRY 04 / SECUREMENT BASICS
The securement rules every flatbed dispatcher should respect
Federal cargo securement rules sit in 49 CFR Part 393, Subpart I. Two of the basics: the combined working load limit of your tie-downs must be at least half the weight of the cargo, and the number of tie-downs depends on the length and weight of each article, with more required as articles get longer. There are also commodity-specific rules for things like logs, metal coils, heavy machinery and dressed lumber.
A dispatcher doesn't secure your load, and the driver is the one responsible for it at roadside. What a good desk does is give you the weight, dimensions and piece count before you sign, so you know whether your gear meets the rules for that load.
If a load needs gear you don't carry, we tell you before the rate con is sent. Turning down a load you can't secure correctly costs nothing. Hauling it badly can cost a lot more.
Read the rule text yourself for the commodities you haul often; the eCFR link above goes straight to it. This page is a summary, not legal advice.
ENTRY 05 / SEASONS AND LANES
Flatbed follows construction, steel and agriculture
Flatbed demand rises with building season and slows in the coldest months in much of the country. Steel, lumber and building materials move heavily from spring through fall; farm equipment follows planting and harvest. DAT reported a national flatbed line-haul average of $2.70 a mile in August 2026, plus about 84 cents of fuel surcharge.
SOURCE: DAT NATIONAL AVERAGES, AUGUST 2026, PUBLISHED SEPT 15, 2026
Backhauls are the hard part. Flatbed freight often flows out of steel, lumber and manufacturing regions and is thinner going back. We line up the reload before you deliver, even if it means a slightly lower outbound rate that sets up a better round trip.
Winter planning. When building slows, we look at freight that keeps moving through winter, and at lanes south where work continues, so the truck isn't sitting for weeks.
Step deck or flatbed? If you are deciding between trailers, step deck dispatch compares what each opens and what it costs.
Why flatbed owners hire a flatbed dispatcher
Time on the deck, not on the phone
Securing and tarping take real time. Finding the next load at the same time means one of them gets rushed.
Loads described badly
A load posted without dimensions or piece count turns into a surprise at the shipper. We ask before you commit.
Extras that go unpaid
Tarp time, TONU and layover left off the rate con are rarely paid later.
Seasonal swings
A strong summer can hide a weak plan for winter. Lane planning keeps the truck moving through the slow months.
What we need to dispatch your flatbed
Your MC and DOT number, a certificate of insurance with auto liability and cargo, a signed W-9, your deck length and type, a list of your gear, your ELD provider, and your notice of assignment if you factor. With a CDL truck under your own authority, your drug and alcohol testing program has to be in place.
On the call we set your floor, the freight you like and won't haul, how far you will deadhead and your home days. Every flatbed load after that arrives as a rate con for you to sign or refuse.
ENTRY 06 / FEE AND QUESTIONS
The fee, and flatbed dispatcher questions
A flatbed pays the same tier as every truck we dispatch: 5% of gross with one truck and an MC past six months, 7% while the MC is newer, 4% for two or more trucks. Tarp pay and other extras on the rate con are part of the gross. On an EXAMPLE $6,500 flatbed week the standard fee is $325. No setup fee, no contract, and nothing on loads you decline. See the dispatch pricing page.
Q01What flatbed freight pays best?
It changes with the season and the market. Tarped loads, oversized or tricky-to-secure freight and loads out of busy construction and steel markets often pay more, because fewer carriers want them or can haul them. The best-paying load is the one that pays well after tarping time, deadhead and the reload.
Q02Do you negotiate tarp pay?
Yes, on every tarped load, before the rate con is written. Tarp pay is usually a flat add-on per load, and it should be listed on the rate con as its own line. If a broker wants a tarped load at an untarped rate, we push back or you hear about it before you sign.
Q03Can a new MC get flatbed loads?
Yes. Flatbed brokers often care more about securement record and gear than authority age, though some still want history. We start with brokers that book new flatbed carriers and build from there. Clean securement and on-time delivery open doors quickly.
Q04Will you force me to take loads?
No. Every load comes to you as a rate con in your company's name, and you sign it or say no. We never sign for you and there is no fee on a load you decline. If you don't like a load's securement or tarping, that alone is a fine reason to pass.
Q05What securement gear do I need?
Enough straps, chains and binders to meet the working load limit and tie-down count rules for what you haul, plus edge protection, and tarps if you want tarped freight. Coil racks open coil loads. The ledger on this page shows which freight each piece opens.
Your gear, your floor, your signature on every flatbed load
Apply in about a minute. Tell us what is on your deck and where you like to run; tarp pay and TONU go on every rate con we send you.