A dry run
Site described as dock-high that is not, or a gate that will not take the trailer. Roughly $180 and three hours of lane time. Preventable with one honest sentence on the form.
Logistics · 22 May 2025
What a flatbed load actually costs
We say pickup is free on qualifying loads. People reasonably ask how that works, so here is the real cost sheet for one 48-container flatbed run and where the money comes from.
- Sheet
- 72
- Revision
- 2026-10
- Scale
- 1:1
- Drawn at
- Peoria IL
48Containers per flatbed
~$8Freight per container
2×Legs per trip
12+Qualifying load
Free pickup is routing, not generosity, and the arithmetic only works because the truck is loaded in both directions. Here is the whole sheet for a typical 320-mile round trip on the I-74 lane.
| Line | Cost | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel, 320 mi round trip | $168 | At 6.2 mpg loaded |
| Driver, 9 hours | $261 | Including pre-trip and load time |
| Tractor and trailer, allocated | $96 | Depreciation, maintenance, insurance |
| Straps, corner boards, tarp wear | $14 | Consumables per load |
| Yard labour both ends | $74 | Loading and intake |
| Total | $613 | For a two-way, 48-out / 44-back run |
| Per container moved | ≈ $6.70 | 92 containers across both legs |
The deadhead problem
That same trip with an empty return leg costs the same $613 and moves 48 containers instead of 92, which is $12.80 each. Send the truck out empty to collect and come back loaded and it is identical. Send it out for twelve containers and back empty, and the freight cost per container is over fifty dollars — which is more than a Grade B container is worth.
So the rule is not arbitrary. Twelve containers is roughly where a collection stop stops costing more than the containers are worth, assuming the truck is already going past. Inside sixty miles of the yard we drop the minimum entirely, because the marginal cost of one more stop on a local sweep is about twenty minutes.
What makes a load expensive
Off-lane distance
Thirty miles off a standing lane doubles the marginal cost of a stop, because it is sixty miles plus the time.
Single-leg loads
Collection with nothing to deliver, or delivery with nothing to collect. This is the real driver of freight charges and it is why swap runs are cheaper for everybody.
Mixed heights and bad stacking
A load that cannot be double-stacked because somebody mixed 275s and 330s carries half as much for the same cost.
“We are not selling freight. We are selling the second half of a journey the truck was making anyway.”
— How the lane pricing actually works
How to get the cheapest freight from anyone
- Consolidate. One stop of 48 beats four stops of twelve, every time, for you and for the carrier.
- Ask about swap runs. If you are both buying and disposing, put them on the same visit and one of the legs becomes free.
- Be honest about access up front. A dry run is the most expensive thing that can happen to a load and it is entirely avoidable.
- Stack by height before the truck arrives. It can be the difference between one load and two.
- Give a window, not a day. A three-day window lets a carrier fit you into a lane instead of building a trip around you.
- Buy and sell with the same yard. The economics above are the whole reason it is cheaper.
Want to know if you are on a lane?
The service area page lists every standing lane with its frequency and lead time. If you are on one, pickup is usually free.