Detention, Layover & TONU: Protecting Revenue When the Truck Isn’t Moving

A truck does not stop costing money when it stops moving. Detention, layover, and truck ordered not used can turn a profitable load into lost time and lost revenue if the carrier does not understand the terms, document what happened, and protect its right to request compensation.

A truck makes money by completing productive work. But trucking does not always cooperate. A driver may arrive on time and wait five hours at a shipper, a receiver may not unload until tomorrow, or a load may be canceled after the truck has already driven toward pickup.

The wheels may stop. The business expenses do not.

First: These Are Usually Commercial Terms

There is not one universal FMCSA-mandated detention rate, layover rate, or TONU payment that applies to every brokered load. Compensation commonly depends on the rate confirmation, broker-carrier agreement, customer terms, load-specific agreement, and circumstances.

What Is Detention?

Detention generally occurs when a truck is delayed at a shipper or receiver beyond an agreed amount of loading or unloading time.

Example: a driver has a 10:00 AM appointment, checks in on time, and the agreement provides two hours of free time. Loading is not completed until 3:00 PM. Under those hypothetical terms, approximately three hours may fall beyond the free-time period. Whether those hours qualify for compensation—and at what rate—depends on the applicable agreement and documentation.

Free Time Matters

Many detention arrangements include a period during which no detention compensation accrues. Do not assume every load uses the same free-time period.

Confirm how much free time applies, when the clock starts, what rate applies afterward, whether there is a payment cap, what documentation is required, and how quickly the request must be submitted.

Appointment Time Is Not Always Check-In Time

The applicable agreement may calculate waiting time from appointment time, actual check-in, dock assignment, or another defined event. Arriving late can also affect eligibility.

Document Detention While It Is Happening

Preserve appointment time, arrival time, check-in time, dock time when available, loading or unloading completion time, departure time, facility information, communications, and relevant BOL/POD timestamps. ELD, GPS, geofence, messaging, or other electronic records may also help establish arrival and departure.

If you expect to request money for waiting, document the waiting.

Notify the Broker Early

Do not wait until hours after a delay begins to mention it. Prompt, timestamped communication gives the broker an opportunity to contact the customer and can create a clearer record of the event.

What Is Layover?

Layover generally involves a delay long enough that the truck loses a substantial portion of the day or is held until a later day. A layover payment is generally intended to compensate for an extended delay under the applicable commercial agreement.

There is no universal federal layover rate for every brokered load. The amount and eligibility depend on the agreement.

Detention Does Not Automatically Become Layover

Do not assume that after a certain number of hours detention automatically becomes layover. One agreement may cap detention and then provide layover; another may use a flat payment or define the transition differently.

Confirm when detention ends, when layover begins, whether both can be paid, and what documentation is required.

Layover Is More Than Waiting

An extended delay can cost the truck another revenue opportunity. A layover payment may help without necessarily making the carrier economically whole. That does not mean the broker owes hypothetical lost revenue; it means carriers should understand the business impact of delays when evaluating freight and negotiating terms.

What Is TONU?

TONU commonly means Truck Ordered Not Used. It generally applies when a truck is committed or dispatched for a load but the shipment is canceled or otherwise does not move under circumstances covered by the parties' agreement.

If a truck has already deadheaded toward pickup, the carrier may have spent fuel, time, equipment miles, and lost another opportunity. A TONU payment may compensate for some of that loss when the circumstances and agreement qualify.

Cancellation Does Not Automatically Guarantee TONU

Eligibility can depend on when the load was canceled, whether the truck had already been dispatched, whether it reached the shipper, whether the carrier was ready and able to perform, the rate confirmation, the broker-carrier agreement, and other circumstances.

Document the Cancellation

Preserve the original rate confirmation, dispatch time, cancellation time, truck location, deadhead already traveled, broker communications, shipper communications when applicable, and any revised or cancellation documentation.

If a TONU amount is approved, request written confirmation of the amount and payment terms.

Get Accessorial Approval in Writing

A phone call can resolve the immediate situation, but money should be documented. Written confirmation may come through an updated rate confirmation, email authorization, broker portal approval, or another written record.

Revised Rate Confirmations Matter

If the original rate is $2,500 and the broker later approves $150 detention plus $200 layover, expected compensation becomes $2,850. Properly documenting those amounts makes invoicing and payment follow-up much cleaner.

Don't Wait Until Invoicing to Mention the Charge

A stronger workflow is: identify the delay, notify the broker, document the times, request compensation, obtain written approval, update the load record, and invoice according to the approved terms.

Detention Can Change Load Profitability

A six-hour unexpected wait can cost the truck its next planned load. Even if detention is approved, the delay changes the economics of the day. Profitability involves not only revenue divided by miles, but also the time and resources consumed.

Know the Difference Between Compensation and Full Recovery

An accessorial payment may reduce the economic loss without eliminating it. Carriers should still evaluate lost productive time, parking, idling, or other impacts when reviewing the performance of brokers, customers, facilities, and lanes.

Track Repeat Problem Facilities

One delay can happen anywhere. Repeated delays at the same facility create useful business intelligence. Consider tracking average wait time, detention frequency, payment success, facility, broker/customer, and recurring operational problems.

The Digital Queen Logistics Accessorial Revenue Check

Your Truck's Time Has Value

A carrier should never assume every delay will be compensated. But the carrier should also never treat the truck's time as worthless.

Know the terms. Track the clock. Communicate early. Document what happened. Get compensation approvals in writing. Evaluate whether repeated delays are hurting the business even when some accessorial money is paid.