Multi-stop load pay calculator

The problem with flat stop pay

Multi-stop loads usually pay a base rate for the move plus a flat amount for each extra stop. The flat amount often looks reasonable on the phone. But a stop isn't just a dollar figure. It's time: finding the dock, checking in, waiting, unloading part of the trailer, and getting back on the road. It's often extra miles, too. A flat stop payment that ignores how long the stop takes can quietly turn a good load into an average one.

This multi-stop load pay calculator puts a fair price on each stop by comparing it with the load itself. If an hour of driving on this load earns a certain amount, an hour spent at a stop should earn about the same. Otherwise the stops are cheaper time for the broker and more expensive time for you.

How fair stop pay is calculated

First, the base rate per mile: the rate for the move divided by the loaded miles. Multiply that by your average driving speed and you have what an hour of driving earns on this load. A fair payment for a stop is the hours the stop takes times that hourly figure, plus any out-of-route miles at the same rate per mile. Multiply by the number of stops and add the base rate for the fair total.

The calculator also shows the offered stop pay as an hourly figure, so you can see what the broker is really paying for your time at the dock.

• EXAMPLE

  EXAMPLE LOAD

  $2,000 for 800 miles, two extra stops

  The base rate is $2.50 a mile. At a 50 mph average, an hour of driving earns $125. Each stop takes about an hour and a half and adds 10 out-of-route miles, so fair pay is about $213 a stop. The broker offers $50 a stop, about $33 an hour. Offered total: $2,100. Fair total: $2,425, about $325 more.

Reading your result

• +The offer is close to fair. The stop pay covers the time and miles at the load's own rate. Take it if the rest of the load checks out.
• +The offer is short. Counter at the fair total, or ask for the fair stop pay. Use the time at each stop as your reason.
• +The hourly figure is very low. Stops that pay a small fraction of a driving hour mean the stops subsidize the broker. Pass unless the base rate is strong enough to cover them.

Ask about the stops before you agree: how many, where, whether each is a live unload or a drop, appointment times and how detention works at each one. A load with several stops and tight appointments can also use up a big part of your 14-hour window.

Detention and multi-stop loads

Each stop is another chance for a long wait. Make sure detention terms apply at every stop, not only the first pickup and final delivery, and that free time is stated per stop. Keep in and out times on the paperwork at each one. The detention pay calculator works out the claim for any stop that runs long.

Keep shippers and brokers updated as you go. On multi-stop freight, a broker usually wants a check call at each stop, and missed updates are one of the most common reasons brokers stop calling a carrier back. Our guide on load tracking covers what brokers expect.

Bidding on multi-stop freight

If you bid on loads rather than counter postings, build the stops into the bid from the start. Price the move, then price each stop at its time and miles, and quote the total. Our guide on how to bid on loads explains the rest of the process. To check the whole load once the stops are priced, the load profitability calculator subtracts fuel, wear, tolls and fixed costs.

Multi-stop loads on our desk

Our dispatchers ask about every stop before they counter, and get stop pay, appointment times and detention terms on the rate confirmation. Nothing is booked until you agree, and the rate con with the stop pay on it comes to you. See how we work with owner-operators.