BETTER RATES
A higher paying loads dispatcher starts with each truck's floor
"Better rates" isn't a promise anyone can keep about the market. It's a method: a floor rate for each unit built from its own cost per mile, a counter on every load, and the discipline to pass on freight that doesn't clear the floor. A higher paying loads dispatcher works that method every day, and you still approve every load.
UNIT 101
Floor $1.92/mi
Paid off
UNIT 102
Floor $2.28/mi
Financed
UNIT 103
Floor $2.45/mi
Newest truck
UNIT 02
Set each unit's floor, then judge the offers
Enter each truck's cost per mile and the profit you want. Then pick a unit and watch the same offers get flagged differently.
Where does cost per mile come from? Your own books: fuel, driver pay, truck and trailer payments, insurance, maintenance, permits and overhead, divided by all the miles the truck ran, loaded or not. As a reference, the industry average was $2.336/miAverage operating cost per mile, 2025$2.336/miATRI's 2026 Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: industry average for 2025, up from $2.260 in 2024. Fuel about $0.482/mi; non-fuel $1.854/mi; driver wages and benefits $1.028/mi.ATRI, Operational Costs of Trucking (2026 edition), 2025Checked Oct 2026 in 2025, but a single truck can sit well above or below that. Work out yours with the cost per mile calculator.
Always compare all-in, not linehaul alone. A $2.60 linehaul rate with 90 empty miles to the pickup is a lower all-in rate than $2.40 with a 10 mile deadhead. Fuel surcharges, detention and other accessorials count too, but only when they're on the rate con. Check any single offer with the rate per mile calculator.
Revisit floors when costs move. A fuel spike, a new insurance renewal or a truck payoff changes a unit's cost per mile, and the floor should follow. Tell the desk, and the next offer for that unit is judged against the new number. We also review floors with you whenever a unit keeps passing on loads: sometimes the floor is right and the market is weak, sometimes the floor is stale.
UNIT 03
How we counter on a broker call
Plain steps. No scripts that make brokers hang up.
BEFORE DIALING
Know the floor and the target
The unit's floor, the counter target, and what this lane paid recently.FIRST 30 SECONDS
Ask for their number
Never open with ours. The broker's first number tells us how much room there is.THE COUNTER
Counter with reasons
Truck empty and close, on-time record, hard pickup window, heavy or awkward freight.THE CLOSE
Meet in the middle or walk
If it can't reach the floor, we thank them and move on. Calling back later often works.THEN
Bring it to you
The final rate, all-in RPM and any notes. You approve; the rate con comes to you.
EXAMPLE A broker posts Memphis to Dallas at $950 for 452 miles. Unit 102 is empty 38 miles away with a $2.28 floor, which needs $1,117 all-in. The desk asks for the broker's best, hears $1,000, counters at $1,200 because the truck can pick up within two hours, and settles at $1,125. That clears the floor, so it goes to you as a yes-or-no.
Counter math is simple: (loaded miles + deadhead) × floor rate = the lowest total we can accept. Countering costs nothing; a broker with real freight and a tight window will usually move. A broker who won't move off a low rate for a hard load is telling you something too.
Later, use the counter-offer target rate calculator to set your own targets lane by lane.
Rates also rise for carriers brokers trust. A truck that picks up on time, answers tracking calls and sends the POD the same day is worth more to a broker than an unknown truck at the same price, and brokers remember. Over a few months, that record is the strongest card in any negotiation, and it belongs to your MC, not to us.
UNIT 04
When a lower rate is the right load
The floor is a rule, not a religion. Here's when we'll bring you a load below it, always labeled.
It sets up a strong reload
A short, cheap run into a market where the next load pays well above the floor.It gets the driver home
A Friday load toward home that saves a 300 mile empty run anyway.It beats sitting
In a soft market, a below-floor load can still cover fuel and fixed costs better than a parked truck.It opens a lane
A first load with a shipper who has weekly freight at a better rate.
In every case we measure the pair, not the single load. Two loads that average above the floor over the trip beat one load that clears it and leaves the truck stranded in a dead market for a day. The offer card shows you both legs before you decide.
What we won't do: book a below-floor load without asking, or bring you one without a reason. If you tell us a unit never runs below its floor, it never sees one. You can also set a softer rule, like "below floor only toward home on Thursday or Friday," and the desk follows it unit by unit. The rules card for each truck is yours to change any day by phone or text.
Our opinion: a dispatcher who never brings you a below-floor load is leaving reloads on the table, and one who books them without asking is spending your money. The right answer is in the middle, with you deciding.
Fees are the same for every load: 5% for one truck, 4% per truck from two, 7% while your MC is new. See the dispatch rates page.
UNIT 05
Questions about rates and floors
01Can a dispatcher get me better freight rates?
A good one can get you better rates than you'd take on your own, because they counter every offer, know what each lane has paid recently, and have time to make the extra calls. Nobody can promise a rate, though. The market sets the range; the dispatcher's job is to get you the top of it and to skip loads at the bottom.
02What is a good rate per mile for my truck?
One that covers your cost per mile plus the profit you want, counted on all miles including deadhead. That number differs for every truck. The industry average operating cost is a reference point, but your payment, insurance, fuel economy and driver pay decide your real floor.
03How do dispatchers negotiate with brokers?
By knowing the floor before the call, asking the broker for their number first, countering with specifics (equipment ready now, on-time record, the lane's recent rates), and being willing to walk. The steps are laid out on this page.
04Should every truck in my fleet have the same minimum rate?
No. A paid-off truck and a financed one have different costs per mile, so a single minimum either leaves money on the table for one or loses money on the other. Each unit gets its own floor.
05Will you book a load below my floor rate?
Never without your yes. Sometimes a below-floor load is the right move, like a short run that sets up a strong reload or gets a driver home. When we bring you one, it's labeled below floor with the reason, and you decide.
Every unit gets its own floor
Send us your trucks and what each one costs to run. A dispatcher calls back, sets the floors with you, and brings offers that clear them.
4% for 2+ trucks, 5% for one, 7% while your MC is new