Flat rate freight: one price for the load, and how to tell if it's a good one
Flat rate freight is a shipment priced at one number for the whole load. Most truckload offers work this way: the broker quotes a linehaul for the lane, not a rate per mile. That simplicity is useful, and it's also where costs hide. This guide explains how flat rates compare with per-mile and per-hundredweight pricing, when a flat rate works for carriers and for shippers, and how to read one. We dispatch carriers and don't ship or quote freight; the math works the same either way.
Enter a flat rate below with the miles, the deadhead and the weight, to see it three ways.
Per loaded mile
$2.69
Per mile driven
$2.30
Per cwt
$4.38
The 90 empty miles to the pickup cut the real rate from $2.69 to $2.30 a mile. A flat price hides that unless you divide it yourself.
Flat rate, per mile and per cwt
- Flat rate: one total for the load. Easy to quote, easy to invoice, easy to compare on the surface.
- Per mile: a rate times the miles. Common in contracts and in how carriers think about costs.
- Per hundredweight (cwt): a rate times the weight in hundreds of pounds. Common in LTL and some bulk freight.
They're different ways of expressing the same thing, a price, and any one can be converted to the others with the miles and the weight. The trouble comes when you compare a flat rate on one load with a per-mile rate on another without converting.
When a flat rate works for carriers
A flat rate works when the miles are known and the price covers them with margin: a regular lane, a short haul with a predictable route, a load where you know the reload on the other end. It's also simpler on the invoice. It works less well when the route can change, when stops are added, or when the deadhead to the pickup is long, because the price doesn't move with the extra miles. Carriers running steady lanes often prefer flat rates for exactly the predictability; our page on dedicated lanes dispatch explains how lanes are built.
When a flat rate works for shippers
Shippers like flat rates for budgeting: one known number per load or per pallet. Some carriers and services offer flat prices by pallet size or by freight zones, which turns pricing into a lookup. The catch is the fine print: weight limits, size limits, and extra charges for services like liftgates or residential delivery. A flat rate is only flat within its conditions.
Every flat-rate offer we present comes converted to rate per loaded mile and per mile driven, so you can compare it with your costs before you say yes.
Get rates I can compareThe cost a flat rate hides
The biggest hidden cost is deadhead. A flat $1,400 for 520 loaded miles looks like $2.69 a mile, but if the truck drives 90 empty miles to the pickup, the money is spread over 610 miles, about $2.30 a mile. Detours, extra stops and tolls do the same. The fix is simple: divide every flat rate by the miles you'll actually drive, and compare that with your cost per mile. The rate per mile calculator does it with your own numbers and gives a counter-offer.
A worked example: two offers
Two flat offers from the same cityExample
- OFFER A$1,400 for 520 loaded miles, 90 deadhead: $2.69 loaded, $2.30 per mile driven
- OFFER B$1,250 for 440 loaded miles, 15 deadhead: $2.84 loaded, $2.75 per mile driven
- HEADLINEOffer A pays $150 more
- REALOffer B pays more for every mile the truck actually drives
- READCompare on the per-mile-driven number, then check what's at each destination
These are EXAMPLE offers. The habit is what matters: divide before you decide.
Negotiating a flat rate
Negotiate a flat rate the same way you would a per-mile rate: from your numbers. Work out the miles you'll actually drive, multiply by your target rate per mile, and that's your number. Give the broker the reason, such as the deadhead to the pickup or a slow receiver, ask for the accessorial terms in the same call, and get everything on the rate con. A flat rate negotiated this way is just a per-mile rate with the arithmetic done for the broker.
Flat rates with extra stops
A flat rate on a multi-stop load needs extra care. Every stop adds time and often miles that the flat price may not reflect. Ask whether stop pay is included or separate, and count the out-of-route miles before you accept. A flat rate that covers one delivery comfortably can lose money at three.
Fuel and flat rates
When diesel prices move, a flat rate quoted weeks ahead can drift out of line with costs. Some contracts handle this with a separate fuel surcharge that tracks a weekly diesel index, so the flat linehaul stays fixed and the fuel line moves. Spot flat rates are usually all-in, quoted at today's market. If you quote or accept flat rates on a contract, check whether fuel is fixed or indexed, because in a month of rising prices that difference can erase the margin.
Flat rates in international and port freight
Ocean and drayage freight use flat-looking prices too, often per container, with separate charges for things like terminal handling at the port. Read every line: a flat container rate can exclude terminal, chassis and waiting charges that the carrier bills separately.
Taxes and terms
Whether a freight charge is taxed depends on the state and how the charge is presented on the invoice; our guide to whether freight is taxable (coming soon) covers the common patterns. Who pays the flat rate, shipper or receiver, is set by the freight terms on the bill of lading, covered in our guide to freight terms.
What to check before you accept
- Divide the flat rate by loaded miles and by all miles driven.
- Check whether fuel is included or separate.
- Read the accessorial terms: detention, layover, TONU, stops.
- Compare with your cost per mile and with other offers on the same basis.
Lanes priced flat are easiest to manage when they repeat. Our dedicated lanes dispatch desk converts every offer and works toward steady lanes, and you approve every load. Send an application.