Truck Dispatch Pricing Models: Percentage, Flat, and Hybrid Fees

Commercial-research review date: September 3, 2026.

Truck dispatch services commonly quote a percentage, a flat weekly amount, or a hybrid of the two. The headline number is not enough to compare offers. The carrier should know the calculation base, included work, billing trigger, cancellation terms, and whether the relationship preserves carrier control and stays within FMCSA broker-versus-bona-fide-agent guidance.

The examples below are illustrative calculations, not Gold Rush Freight prices, market averages, or revenue promises. A written quote should control.

Three pricing models

Percentage of load revenue

The fee is a stated percentage of an agreed revenue base. The agreement should define whether that base is linehaul only or includes fuel surcharge, detention, layover, TONU, lumper reimbursement, or other accessorial amounts.

Example: if the agreed base is $5,000 and the dispatch fee is 6%, the fee is $300. This does not calculate the carrier’s profit.

Flat weekly fee

The carrier pays a fixed amount for each truck or agreed service period. This may simplify budgeting, but the effective percentage rises in a slow week and falls in a high-revenue week.

Example: a $250 weekly fee divided by $5,000 of the agreed revenue base equals an effective rate of 5%.

Hybrid fee

A hybrid combines a smaller fixed amount with a lower percentage. It can spread risk between the parties, but it is harder to compare unless both components and all add-on fees are included.

Calculate the break-even point

For a percentage-versus-flat comparison, divide the flat weekly fee by the percentage expressed as a decimal.

Illustration: $250 ÷ 0.06 = $4,166.67. Above that weekly revenue base, a $250 flat fee costs less than 6%; below it, the flat fee costs more than 6%. Taxes, other service fees, factoring, fuel, insurance, tolls, permits, and operating costs are separate.

Questions to answer in the written scope

• What exact amount or percentage is charged, and on which revenue fields?
• Which services are included: load search, offer relay, rate negotiation, broker setup, rate confirmations, check calls, detention follow-up, document handoff, invoicing support, or reporting?
• Who accepts a load and signs or approves the rate confirmation?
• Are there setup, minimum, per-load, software, cancellation, after-hours, or document fees?
• When does a fee become earned: when a load is booked, picked up, delivered, invoiced, or paid?
• What happens when a load cancels, the truck breaks down, or the carrier rejects an offer?
• What records does the carrier receive each week to reconcile booked revenue, deadhead, loaded miles, accessorials, and fees?

Compliance and control check

FMCSA says dispatch services can be brokers or bona fide agents depending on the facts. Indicators associated with a bona fide-agent relationship include a written contract with the motor carrier, carrier control, compensation from the carrier under the agreement, and not soliciting shippers or acting as the financial intermediary. No single label or fee model decides the classification.

The carrier should retain final control of load acceptance, routes, safety, hours of service, equipment, insurance, and operating decisions. A dispatcher should not promise revenue, force dispatch, or direct a driver to violate a safety requirement.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and next steps

• FMCSA — Final guidance on broker and bona fide-agent definitions
• Federal Register — Dispatch service, broker, and bona fide-agent factors

Review the Dispatch Services page, prepare the Cost-per-Mile calculation, and use the Onboarding Documents by Equipment Type guide before requesting a written scope.