Freight dispatch glossary
The terms that show up on a rate confirmation, a settlement statement or a broker invoice — in plain English. Every term here is one DispatchInAI actually handles, so where it matters you can see what the software does with it.
Rate confirmation (rate con, ratecon)
The document a broker sends a carrier to confirm a booked load. It states the agreed rate and the load's details — pickup and delivery locations, dates and appointment windows, reference numbers, commodity, weight, equipment type and any special instructions. It is the carrier's record of what was agreed and is normally required when invoicing.
In DispatchInAI: Uploaded as a PDF and read into a structured load across 100+ broker formats. Fields the model is unsure about are flagged for the dispatcher to confirm rather than saved silently.
Deadhead (empty miles)
Miles driven with an empty trailer, usually between delivering one load and picking up the next. Deadhead miles cost fuel and hours but earn nothing directly, so a load's real value depends on the deadhead needed to reach it, not only on the rate.
In DispatchInAI: Calculated per driver from their previous delivery to the pickup, and used to rank drivers by the margin a load would actually leave.
TONU (Truck Order Not Used)
A fee paid to a carrier when a load they were dispatched on is cancelled after the truck has already been committed or has started moving toward the pickup. It compensates for the time and miles lost, and is typically a flat amount agreed with the broker.
In DispatchInAI: A first-class cancellation outcome, with its compensation recorded against the load.
Lumper fee
A charge for third-party labour to load or unload a trailer, common at grocery and food-distribution warehouses. The driver usually pays it on site and the carrier is reimbursed by the broker, so the receipt has to reach the invoice.
In DispatchInAI: Photographed by the driver at the dock and attached to the load, then merged into the invoice package.
Detention
A charge for time a truck is held at a shipper or receiver beyond an agreed free period, usually two hours. It compensates for hours the driver cannot use elsewhere and is billed at an hourly rate agreed with the broker.
In DispatchInAI: Recorded on the load and carried through to the broker invoice and the driver's pay.
Bill of lading (BOL)
The contract of carriage issued when freight is picked up. It describes the goods, names the shipper and consignee, and serves as the receipt for what was loaded. A signed copy is the basis for proving what the carrier accepted.
In DispatchInAI: Captured by the driver from their phone at pickup and attached to the load.
Proof of delivery (POD)
The signed document confirming freight was delivered and accepted, usually a signed bill of lading or delivery receipt. Most brokers will not pay an invoice without it, so a missing POD directly delays payment.
In DispatchInAI: Photographed at delivery from the driver's phone and merged into the invoice package automatically.
IFTA (International Fuel Tax Agreement)
An agreement among US states and Canadian provinces that lets a carrier file one quarterly fuel-tax return instead of one per jurisdiction. The carrier reports miles driven in each jurisdiction and fuel purchased in each, and tax is redistributed accordingly.
In DispatchInAI: A quarterly worksheet of miles by jurisdiction and fuel purchases, with fuel receipts read automatically. It reports net gallons and does not calculate the tax owed.
Dispatch percentage (dispatch fee)
The share of a load's gross rate taken by a dispatcher or dispatch service as their fee, commonly a single-digit percentage. The carrier's net is the gross rate less this fee and any other deductions.
In DispatchInAI: A tenant-level setting with a per-load override, so the fee and the carrier's net are calculated on the load itself.
Owner-operator
A truck driver who owns or leases their own truck and runs it as a business, rather than driving a company-owned truck as an employee. They carry their own authority or lease onto a carrier, and are responsible for their own costs, compliance and bookkeeping.
Factoring
Selling an unpaid freight invoice to a finance company at a discount in exchange for payment within a day or two, rather than waiting the broker's normal 30 days. It trades a few percent of the invoice for predictable cash flow.
In DispatchInAI: Broker invoices are factoring-aware, and the document package is assembled in the form factors expect.
Driver settlement
The pay statement that reconciles what a driver earned over a period against what is deducted, producing the net amount paid. For owner-operators it typically covers a percentage of load revenue; for company drivers it may be per mile, per load or hourly.
In DispatchInAI: Supports percentage (flat or layered), per-mile with separate loaded and deadhead rates, flat per load, and hourly — with recurring deductions, escrow and negative-balance carry-forward.
Cents per mile (CPM, per-mile pay)
A pay model where a driver earns a set amount for each mile driven. Loaded and deadhead miles are often paid at different rates, since empty miles earn the carrier nothing.
In DispatchInAI: A pay method with separate loaded and deadhead rates per driver.
Driver escrow
Money withheld from a driver's settlements and held by the carrier against future costs such as damage, fuel advances or equipment. It is the driver's money, must be accounted for separately, and is normally refundable when they leave.
In DispatchInAI: A ledger with automatic contributions plus manual charges and refunds, with the balance shown on every statement.
Carry-forward (negative balance carry-forward)
When deductions on a settlement exceed earnings, the shortfall is carried to the next settlement rather than producing a negative payment. The driver receives nothing that period and the balance is recovered from later earnings.
In DispatchInAI: Net floors at zero and the remainder rolls to the next settlement as a prior-balance line.
Multi-stop load
A load with more than one pickup or delivery, where the trailer is partly loaded or unloaded at several points on one run. Each stop has its own address, appointment window and reference numbers, and stop pay is often added for the extra ones.
In DispatchInAI: Stops are first-class records in sequence, with their own dates, appointment windows and reference numbers.
Reefer (refrigerated trailer)
A temperature-controlled trailer used for food, pharmaceuticals and other perishable freight. The rate confirmation specifies the required temperature, and failing to hold it can void the load's value.
In DispatchInAI: An equipment type, with the required temperature range carried on the load.
Dry van
A standard enclosed trailer with no temperature control, used for palletized and packaged freight. It is the most common trailer type in US truckload freight.
In DispatchInAI: An equipment type, one of thirteen the platform recognises.
Double-booking
Committing the same truck or driver to two loads whose time windows overlap. It is a scheduling error rather than a practice, and it usually surfaces late — when a driver cannot physically make the second pickup.
In DispatchInAI: The load planner flags an overlapping commitment when a load is assigned, before the assignment is made.