The rate for the whole trip
Expedited rates look high per loaded mile, but hot loads often start with a long deadhead and end somewhere with no reload. We work out the rate across every mile, loaded and empty, before you decide.
Expedited and hot loads
Expedited dispatch for hot loads that still pay for the wait.
Hot loads pay for urgency: a plant down until a part arrives, a retailer out of stock, a shipment that missed its truck. They also come with traps. The deadline is tight, your hours are finite, and the load can cancel after you've driven an hour to it. Our expedited dispatch desk checks your hours before the offer, keeps TONU and detention on the rate con even when the broker is in a hurry, and still leaves the yes or no to you.
Can you run it legally and on time? Check before you say yes.
A hot load is only worth taking if it can be delivered by the deadline without breaking the hours rules. Federal limits for property-carrying drivers allow 11 hours of driving within a 14-hour on-duty window after 10 hours off, and a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving.
Put in the hours you have left today, the deadhead to the pickup, the loaded miles, a realistic average speed, time at the docks and the deadline. The card estimates the driving time, adds the break if it's needed, and tells you whether the load fits your hours and the deadline.
We run the same check before we bring you an offer. When a load doesn't fit, we don't pretend it does. We ask the broker whether the deadline can move, whether a team or a relay would work, or we pass.
Sources: 49 CFR 395.3(a)(3), checked October 2026; 49 CFR 395.3(a)(2), checked October 2026; 49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(ii), checked October 2026
hrs
hrs
mi
mi
mph
hrs
hrs
8.7 hrs driving, plus a 30-minute break, 10.2 hrs start to finish.
- Fits your driving hours left.
- Fits inside your on-duty window.
- Misses the delivery deadline at this pace.
Not runnable as offered. A team, a relay or a later deadline would be needed.
An estimate from your inputs and the federal property-carrying limits. Your ELD is the record that counts.
What makes a hot load worth taking.
Your hours after delivery
A rush run that burns your whole day can leave you out of hours far from freight tomorrow. We look at where you'll be and how many hours you'll have for the next load.
Cancellation risk
Hot freight cancels more than planned freight, because the problem sometimes gets solved another way while you're driving. A TONU on the rate con is the only protection, and we ask for it every time.
Speed also changes the paperwork. Rush loads still need a signed bill of lading and a signed POD, and the faster you send the POD, the faster an urgent broker usually pays. Brokers who move a lot of hot freight remember the carriers who delivered on time and sent clean paperwork the same hour.
Shippers looking for expedited carriers often compare service levels before they book; our guide to expedited freight services (coming soon) explains those from the shipper's side. For a quick ETA on your own numbers, use the transit time and ETA calculator.
Speed without shortcuts
On a hot load the broker wants an answer in minutes, so the temptation is to skip the questions. We don't skip them; we ask them faster. Weight, dimensions, pickup readiness, delivery hours, TONU and detention all get settled in the same call, and the offer reaches you as one complete message.
Ready means ready
The most expensive hot load is the one that isn't ready when you arrive. Before you roll, we confirm the freight is staged, someone will load it, and the paperwork is printed. If the shipper can't confirm, you hear that before you commit, and the TONU line protects the drive if it falls apart anyway.
The receiver end
A load that was urgent at pickup can be anything but at delivery: a receiving dock that closes at five, a plant that only takes deliveries through one gate. We confirm the receiver's hours and contact before you leave, so you aren't sitting outside a locked fence at midnight with a part that was needed by noon.
Expedited on the trucks we dispatch.
A lot of expedited freight is small and light, which suits hotshots and 26 ft box trucks. Larger rush loads go on vans, reefers and flatbeds. Teams can cover long distances without stopping for the 10-hour break, which is why some deadlines only work with two drivers.
Every offer comes with the deadline, the hours check, the rate across all miles and the terms. Yes sends the rate con straight to you to sign. No costs nothing.
Load offer 1 of 2
ExampleDayton, OH to Louisville, KY
- Miles
- 205
- Rate
- $950
- Per mile
- $4.63
- Deliver by 18:00, fits your hours
- TONU $200 if cancelled after you roll
- Detention after 1 hr
Pickup Now, ready in 45 min
When a deadline needs two drivers.
Some hot loads can't be delivered on time by one driver, because the federal limits require a 10-hour break that the deadline doesn't allow. Team drivers solve that by trading off, so the truck keeps moving while one driver rests. If you run teams, tell us, and we'll look for the long, tight-deadline freight that pays for two drivers. If you don't, we won't offer you a load that only works with a team.
Settings that make fast answers easy.
Expedited work rewards carriers who can answer quickly, and the easiest way to answer quickly is to have the hard questions settled in advance. On the first call we write down your equipment, your range from home, the hours you usually start and stop, the freight you won't haul, and the lowest total-trip rate you'll take. Every hot load is filtered against those before it reaches your phone, so most offers are a simple yes or no.
The fee on hot freight: no rush charge.
5% of linehaul and accessorial pay collected for one truck past 6 months of authority; 4% for two trucks or more; 7% for a new MC until month 7. TONU and detention count as load pay when they're collected; reimbursed tolls never do. Example A $950 hot load plus a $60 detention carries a fee of $50.50. More on the pricing page.
Expedited dispatch questions
What is expedited freight dispatch?
Booking time-critical loads, the ones that can't wait for the next scheduled truck: a part for a stopped line, a missed shipment, a rush order. The dispatcher finds those loads, checks that you can run them legally and on time, negotiates the rate and terms, and brings them to you fast enough to answer before another truck takes them.
Do expedited loads pay detention?
They can, if it's on the rate con. A hot load still gets held at docks sometimes, ironically, when the receiver isn't as urgent as the shipper. We ask for free time, detention and TONU on every expedited load, because a rush shipment that cancels after you've driven to it is the most common way expedited work goes unpaid.
How do you make sure a hot load is legal on hours?
Before we offer it, we compare the drive time, loading time and deadline with the hours you have left on your clock. If it only works by breaking the rules, we don't offer it as a solo run. Sometimes the answer is a team, a relay or a later delivery time, and we ask the broker for that first.
How fast do I have to accept an expedited load?
Often within minutes, because brokers on hot freight call several carriers at once. That's why your settings matter: when every offer already fits your equipment, lanes, hours and rate floor, a fast answer is easy. We send the full offer in one message, and if you need time, we ask the broker to hold it.
What trucks do you dispatch for expedited loads?
Hotshots and 26 ft box trucks for the smaller, lighter rush freight, and dry vans, reefers and flatbeds for full-size hot loads, including teams. We dispatch 26 ft box trucks and larger equipment. We don't take box trucks under 26 ft, cargo vans or sprinter vans. If a load is too small to need a truck, it usually isn't one we'd book anyway.
Hot loads, cold facts, your answer.
Send the application. Expedited offers arrive with the deadline, the hours check and the TONU line, ready for a fast yes or no.
You approve every load. No setup fee. No contract.