What does a freight dispatcher do?
A freight dispatcher keeps a truck loaded and paid. This is how dispatching works from the first load search to the day you get paid.
Who is who in a load
- Shipper: the business that has freight to move.
- Broker: a licensed intermediary that connects shippers with carriers.
- Carrier: the trucking company or owner-operator that hauls the freight.
- Dispatcher: represents the carrier, finding and negotiating loads and managing the details.
A dispatch service like Sonex is neither a broker nor a carrier. It works on behalf of the carrier.
The life of a load, step by step
- 1. Find. The dispatcher searches load boards and broker relationships for freight that fits your equipment, lanes and home time.
- 2. Screen. Each load is checked for rate per mile, deadhead, pickup and delivery windows and the broker's payment history.
- 3. Negotiate. The dispatcher negotiates the rate and extras such as detention, layover and tarp fees.
- 4. You approve. You see the load details and decide. With Sonex, nothing is booked without your approval.
- 5. Rate confirmation. The broker sends a rate confirmation, the document that states the agreed price and terms. Read it before pickup.
- 6. Pickup and transit. You load, sign the bill of lading (BOL) and drive. The dispatcher handles check calls and updates.
- 7. Delivery. You deliver and obtain a signed proof of delivery (POD).
- 8. Invoice and payment. The invoice goes out with the paperwork attached, and the dispatcher follows up until you are paid.
Terms you will hear
- Deadhead: miles driven empty.
- Detention: payment for time spent waiting beyond the free time at a dock.
- Layover: payment when you must wait overnight or longer for a load.
- TONU (truck ordered, not used): compensation when a load is cancelled after you were dispatched.
- Lumper: a third-party loading or unloading fee.
- Quick pay: a faster payment option, usually for a fee.
Where a good dispatcher earns their fee
The value is not in finding any load, it is in finding the right load and removing everything else from your plate: the rate negotiation, the broker calls, the rate confirmations, the invoices. Time you are not spending on the phone is time you spend driving or resting.
A freight dispatcher finds loads for a truck, negotiates the rate with brokers, manages communication, and handles paperwork such as rate confirmations, BOLs and invoicing, so the driver can focus on driving.
A rate confirmation is the document from the broker that states the agreed price, pickup and delivery details and terms. Read it carefully before pickup, because it is the contract for the load.
Detention pays you for waiting too long at a dock, layover pays when you must wait overnight or longer, and TONU, truck ordered not used, compensates you when a load is cancelled after you were dispatched.
Yes. Sonex handles rate confirmations, BOLs and invoicing from booking to payment, with 24/7 support for delays and delivery issues.
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