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The linehaul is the price of moving freight from one dock to another. An accessorial is everything else on the bill: the hours a truck waits, the liftgate that lowers a crate to a driveway, the second attempt after a receiver turned the truck away, the permit for a load that is too wide. Most of them are predictable from facts the shipper already knows when the load is booked. This page defines 38 of them, grouped by what causes them, shows what published documents actually list for each, and ends with a fee checker that turns your load's conditions into a list of likely charges.
Where the numbers come from
No figure on this page is an Averstone Logistics price, and none of it is a quote. We opened the published documents below in October 2026, kept only figures we could attribute, and labelled each one by which side of the invoice it comes from. A shipper list price is what a carrier publishes for shippers before any negotiated discount. Carrier pay is what a shipper pays the trucking company directly, with no intermediary's margin on top.
- Estes Express Lines, an LTL carrier: its Rules Tariff EXLA 105 (effective January 2, 2026, with revisions through August 3, 2026) and its accessorial schedule (revision effective November 17, 2025). Shipper list prices.
- GetLTLRates, a service of a freight broker, which compiles residential, limited-access and liftgate charges from 12 LTL carriers' tariffs (updated September 24, 2026). Shipper list prices.
- WARP, whose LTL Tariff version 1.2 shows no effective date (opened October 18, 2026). Shipper list prices.
- Union Pacific's accessorial schedule for the truck carriers it hires (file dated January 2024; columns for van, flatbed/step-deck and specialized trucks) and Campbell's motor-carrier accessorial exhibit for full truckloads (no date shown; opened October 18, 2026). Carrier pay from two large shippers.
- Beardown Logistics (February 10, 2026), a shipper-side estimate for open-deck extras, and O Trucking (September 14, 2026), carrier-side planning costs for permits and escorts.
DAT publishes a plain-English accessorial glossary; we link to it and do not republish DAT rate data. Whatever the published figure, the rate confirmation for a specific load overrides it.
The dock day: where detention, layover and TONU come from
The three biggest time charges are one story told at different points in a driver's day. FMCSA's 2024 detention-study notice defines detention as extra time drivers wait at shipping and receiving facilities for reasons other than loading and unloading, and notes that industry, government and researchers commonly treat dwell time over 2 hours as the point where it starts. The driver's legal day is fixed separately: under 49 CFR 395.3, no driving after 14 consecutive hours from coming on duty, at most 11 of them behind the wheel, and 10 consecutive hours off before the next shift. The 14 hours keep running while the truck waits.
Carriers price this time because it is the scarcest thing they sell. The DOT Office of Inspector General's report ST2018019 (January 31, 2018) estimated that a 15-minute increase in average dwell time raises the expected crash rate by 6.2 percent, and that detention cuts annual earnings for for-hire truckload drivers by $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion. The same report cautioned that the underlying 2013 data were limited, which is why FMCSA proposed a new 12-month study of about 80 carriers and 2,500 drivers in its 2024 notice.
1. Time at the dock
| Charge | What it is and what triggers it | Typical example (illustration, with source) | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detention (truckload) | Pay for the truck's time held at pickup or delivery beyond the free time. Campbell's schedule counts from the appointment and pays only if the truck arrived on time; Estes counts from when the driver reports arrival. | Carrier pay: $50–$75 per hour after 2 free hours, capped at $300–$450 per stop, van to specialized (Union Pacific, Jan 2024); $1 per minute after 2 hours, max $360 (Campbell's, undated). Shipper list: $75 per hour after 2 free hours (WARP v1.2). | Stage the freight and paperwork before the truck arrives, and book appointments your dock can actually work. Put the free time, hourly rate and cap in the rate confirmation. |
| Detention (LTL) | The same charge at an LTL stop, where free time scales with the weight being loaded or unloaded. | Shipper list: free time from 30 minutes under 2,500 lb to 360 minutes at 36,000 lb or more, then $40 per 15 minutes under 20,000 lb (Estes, Jan 2026). WARP v1.2: 30 free minutes, then $1 per minute. | Have a forklift, an operator and someone to sign ready when the truck pulls in; avoid shift changes and lunch breaks. |
| Layover | A flat charge when the truck is held overnight, usually because the wait used up the driver's 14-hour window. | Carrier pay: $360 per 24-hour period, but only for each 24 hours after the first 24 hours in which detention was charged (Campbell's); $400 van or flatbed, $450 specialized (Union Pacific, Jan 2024). Both say detention is not billed for the same period. | Book a delivery time the driver can reach inside one shift. If the receiver can only unload tomorrow, book tomorrow's appointment instead of letting the truck sit. |
| Truck ordered, not used (TONU) | A cancellation fee when a truck is dispatched or arrives and the load is canceled or not ready. | Carrier pay: $150 for cancellations with under 12 hours' notice (Campbell's); $300 van, $400 flatbed, $500 specialized, not paid with 24 hours' notice (Union Pacific, Jan 2024). Shipper list: $350 truckload (WARP v1.2); $222.55 per vehicle per day (Estes, Jan 2026). | Book only freight that is built and released. Cancel in writing before the cutoff, and ask what the cutoff is when you book. |
| Drop-trailer detention | A daily charge when a trailer left without a truck stays past its free time. | Carrier pay: $35 per day after 3 free days (Campbell's). Shipper list: 24 free hours, then $110, $150, and $225 a day from the third day (Estes, Jan 2026). | Load or unload dropped trailers on a schedule and release them the day they are done. |
A worked line: a dry van held four hours at a pickup with two free hours bills 2 × $50 = $100 under Union Pacific's van rate, well under its $300 cap. The same four hours at an LTL stop of 3,000 lb, where Estes allows 60 free minutes, is 3 hours past free time: 12 quarter-hours × $40 = $480 at list price. LTL detention is expensive because the truck has other stops waiting.
2. Equipment
| Charge | What it is and what triggers it | Typical example (illustration, with source) | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liftgate | A powered platform on the tail of a van or straight truck that lowers freight to the ground where there is no dock. | Shipper list: $4.95 per 100 lb, $75 minimum, $350 maximum (Estes, Jan 2026). For an 870 lb shipment, $75–$274 across 12 carriers (GetLTLRates, Sept 24, 2026). | A forklift at the site removes the need. If you need one, put it on the bill of lading; Estes's tariff says that where it has no liftgate truck available it will try to rent one and bill the rental to the party that asked for the service. |
| Tarps | Covering open-deck freight against rain and road grime on a flatbed, step-deck or hotshot. | Carrier pay: $60, flatbed/step-deck (Union Pacific, Jan 2024). Shipper-side: $100–$200 (Beardown Logistics, Feb 10, 2026). | Shrink-wrap or crate freight that needs only light protection, or use a dry van if the freight fits. Say up front if a tarp is required so the right truck is sent. |
| Chains, straps and dunnage | Securement gear and blocking, required for open-deck freight under the cargo-securement rules in 49 CFR Part 393. | Normally part of the rate: Union Pacific's schedule lists dunnage as no fee and says its price belongs in the original bid (Jan 2024). Coil racks or special blocking may be quoted separately (illustrative). | Give piece count, weights and footprint so the truck arrives with enough chains and straps. |
| Pallet jack | The driver moves pallets to the tail or off a liftgate with a hand jack. | Shipper list: $100 (WARP v1.2). Many carriers include it at no charge (illustrative). | Have pallets at the dock edge for pickup and your own jack or forklift at delivery. |
| Winch, tilt deck or loading help | Loading equipment that cannot drive on under its own power. | Shipper-side: $100–$500 (Beardown Logistics, Feb 10, 2026). | Say whether the machine starts, drives and steers; have a loader or forklift at both ends. |
3. Location
| Charge | What it is and what triggers it | Typical example (illustration, with source) | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential pickup or delivery | A home, a home-based business or any address the carrier classes as residential: small streets, no dock, no forklift, nobody always on site. | Shipper list: $8.50 per 100 lb, $75 minimum, $550 maximum (Estes, Jan 2026). Across 12 carriers, minimums run $75–$225, with one at $243 flat (GetLTLRates, Sept 24, 2026). | Ship to a business with a dock, or have the customer collect at the terminal. Declare it on the bill of lading so the right truck is sent the first time. |
| Limited access | Sites where a truck cannot come and go freely. Estes's tariff lists about 40 types, from schools, churches and farms to storage units, mines, hospitals and government buildings. | Shipper list: $85 per shipment (Estes, Jan 2026); $85–$229 flat across the carriers GetLTLRates compared (Sept 24, 2026), some per 100 lb instead. | Describe the site on the bill of lading; Estes's tariff says leaving it off does not excuse the charge, and an undeclared site often adds a redelivery. |
| Construction site or jobsite | Active building or road sites: soft ground, no dock, an equipment operator who may be busy elsewhere. | Shipper list: billed as limited access, $85 (Estes, Jan 2026). On truckload and hotshot moves the cost usually arrives as detention or a TONU when the site is not ready (illustrative). | Name an on-site contact with a phone number, confirm a forklift or telehandler, and confirm the site can take a long combination. |
| Military base or secured site | Any site with security checks, gate control or electronic scanning: installations, airports, some plants and ports. | Shipper list: $6.12 per 100 lb, $150 minimum, $500 maximum per vehicle; $367.50 to reseal a trailer after an off-site security check (Estes, Jan 2026). | Start the gate-access request days ahead with driver, truck and plate details. Our government and defense freight page covers on-post deliveries. |
| Trade show or convention center | Deliveries into exhibition halls, which run their own dock schedules and labor rules. | Shipper list: $35 per shipment, $60 to or from ZIP codes 60601–60699 and 27260 (Estes, Jan 2026). | Use the show's advance warehouse when it offers one, and match the hall's target delivery window. |
These stack. A 1,200 lb crated generator delivered to a house with no dock, at Estes's list prices (January 2026): residential $8.50 × 12 = $102 (inside the $75–$550 band), liftgate $4.95 × 12 = $59.40, raised to the $75 minimum, and a residential delivery appointment $25. That is $202 before linehaul and fuel. If the first attempt fails because nobody was home, Estes adds a $20.35 renotification charge and a redelivery of $10.00 × 12 = $120 (above the $85 minimum), for $342.35, plus storage if the freight sits at the terminal.
4. Handling and service
| Charge | What it is and what triggers it | Typical example (illustration, with source) | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver assist (truckload) | The driver loads, unloads, counts or sorts freight instead of waiting in the cab. | Carrier pay: up to $75 per truckload (Campbell's, undated). | Provide your own labor, or say in advance that the driver will need to touch the freight so the carrier can plan for it. |
| Extra labor (LTL) | A second worker sent to load or unload. | Shipper list: $300 per worker for the first 3 hours, then $80 per worker-hour up to 8 hours (Estes, Jan 2026). | Palletize heavy or numerous pieces so one driver and a jack can handle them. |
| Sort and segregate | Separating a shipment by size, mark, SKU or purchase order at delivery. | Shipper list: $1.00 per package or $2.70 per 100 lb if greater, $90 minimum (Estes, Jan 2026); $5 per box, $35 minimum (WARP v1.2). | Build one pallet per purchase order and label it the way the receiver's routing guide asks. |
| Inside delivery | Carrying freight past the first door, threshold or loading area. | Shipper list: $10.25 per 100 lb, $100 minimum, ground floor; $1.20 per 100 lb, $14 minimum, each extra floor (Estes, Jan 2026); $5 per piece, $35 minimum (WARP v1.2). | Accept at the dock or curb and move it inside with your own staff. |
| Appointment or call-ahead | The carrier must call before delivery or book a set delivery time. | Shipper list: $30 per business shipment, $25 residential (Estes, Jan 2026); waived (WARP v1.2). Carrier pay: no charge for scheduling origin appointments (Campbell's). | Only request it when the receiver requires it, and pass the receiver's booking rules to the carrier with the order. |
| After-hours or weekend service | Pickup or delivery before about 8 a.m., after 5 p.m., on weekends or holidays. | Shipper list: $112 per worker-hour, $400 minimum per worker per day (Estes schedule, Nov 2025); after-hours LTL detention at $2 per minute after 30 free minutes (WARP v1.2). | Schedule inside normal hours unless the dock works nights anyway; many truckload receivers run around the clock. |
| Time-critical service | Delivery by a set hour rather than on the normal transit day. | Shipper list: 30% of the discounted class rate for delivery by 5 p.m. ($60 minimum), 40% by noon ($100 minimum), 50% by 10 a.m. ($140 minimum) (Estes, Jan 2026). | Order early enough for standard transit; a dedicated hotshot can be cheaper than time-critical LTL for one urgent piece. |
| Extra stop (stop-off) | Any pickup or delivery beyond the first and last on one truckload. | Carrier pay: $50 per stop, van (Union Pacific, Jan 2024; Campbell's); $60 for the first extra stop and $80 for each after, flatbed (Union Pacific). | Consolidate stops, and list every one when the load is booked so the stop charge is priced, not discovered. |
5. Paperwork and failed deliveries
| Charge | What it is and what triggers it | Typical example (illustration, with source) | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lumper | A third-party crew that unloads at a distribution center, common in grocery and retail; often paid by the driver at the dock against a receipt. | Passed through at cost with a receipt (Campbell's; Estes, Jan 2026); cost plus 10%, $10 minimum (WARP v1.2). Where the receiver's own labor bills the carrier, Estes lists $1.40 per 100 lb, $25 minimum, $250 maximum (shipper list). | Agree in writing who pays. Under 49 U.S.C. 14103, a shipper or receiver that requires unloading help must provide it or pay for it. See the retail DC delivery guide. |
| Redelivery | A second delivery attempt after the first failed for a reason that was not the carrier's fault: closed, refused, wrong equipment. | Shipper list: $10.00 per 100 lb, $85 minimum, $900 maximum (Estes, Jan 2026); spot-quoted by miles (WARP v1.2). | Confirm receiving hours, the contact and the equipment needed before the truck leaves the terminal. |
| Reconsignment or diversion | Changing the consignee or the delivery address after pickup. | Shipper list: $35 plus the extra miles (WARP v1.2). Carrier pay: $1.45 per out-of-route mile (Campbell's). | Settle the final destination before tender; a change made at the terminal costs less than one made on the road. |
| Storage | The carrier holds freight it could not deliver. | Shipper list: $3.00 per 100 lb per 24 hours, $20 minimum per day, $50 minimum per shipment (Estes, Jan 2026); $45 per day after 3 free days (WARP v1.2). | Answer the arrival notice the day it comes and give a delivery date. |
| Corrected bill of lading | Reissuing the bill of lading after tender, for example to change who pays. | Shipper list: $20 (Estes schedule, Nov 2025). | Check payer, addresses and freight description before the driver signs. |
| Reweigh or reclassification | The carrier weighs or measures the freight, finds a different weight or class, and rebills. | No flat fee in the documents we opened: you pay the difference between the billed and inspected rating. Worldwide Express (August 20, 2026) says reweigh and reclass charges are rising in 2026 with density-based classification. | Weigh and measure each handling unit, pallet included, and describe it accurately. The pallet calculator helps with dimensions. |
| Pallet exchange | The receiver swaps empty pallets for the loaded ones and the driver brings them back. | No charge unless agreed in writing (Campbell's carrier schedule). | Settle exchange or no-exchange in the order, and note it on the bill of lading. |
| Marking or tagging | The carrier labels pieces the shipper did not mark. | Shipper list: $3.00 per label or tag, $22.35 minimum, when the carrier makes the labels; $1.25 per label, $22.35 minimum, when you supply them and the carrier sticks them on (Estes, Jan 2026). | Label every piece with consignee, address and piece count before pickup. |
6. The freight itself
| Charge | What it is and what triggers it | Typical example (illustration, with source) | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oversize permits | State permits for loads wider than the 102-inch federal limit (23 CFR 658.15) or over a state's height, length or weight limits. | Carrier-side cost: routine single-trip permits about $15–$100+ per state, many $30–$75 (O Trucking, Sept 14, 2026). Paid in every state crossed. | Remove attachments, lay tall items flat or split the load where safe; measure the loaded size, not the brochure size. |
| Pilot cars (escorts) | Escort vehicles that some states require above certain widths, lengths or heights. | Carrier-side cost: about $1.50–$3.50+ per mile per escort vehicle, with $150–$400+ day minimums (O Trucking, Sept 14, 2026). | Stay under the escort thresholds on the route if the freight allows it; ask which states on the route trigger escorts. |
| Overlength (LTL) | A long article that cannot be handled on standard LTL docks and trailers. | Shipper list: $300 for 8–12 ft, $600 for 12–16 ft, $850 for 16–20 ft, $1,000 for 20 ft or more (Estes, Jan 2026). | Past about 12 ft, compare a hotshot or flatbed; one long piece is ordinary freight on an open deck. See hotshot vs. flatbed vs. dry van. |
| Hazardous materials | Any shipment with a hazmat shipping description, which needs papers, labels and sometimes placards. | Shipper list: $30 per shipment (Estes, Jan 2026). On truckloads it is usually priced into the rate, because placards apply at 1,001 lb of most hazmat (49 CFR 172.504) and the carrier needs at least $1,000,000 of liability cover instead of $750,000 (49 CFR 387.9). | Declare it with the proper shipping name and UN number when the load is priced; an undeclared hazmat load is refused or reworked at the dock. |
7. Fuel, liability and payment
| Charge | What it is and what triggers it | Typical example (illustration, with source) | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel surcharge | A per-mile or percentage charge that moves with a weekly diesel index, so the linehaul does not have to be repriced every week. | Union Pacific's schedule (Jan 2024) uses a $1.20 peg and 6 mpg: at EIA's U.S. average of $6.276 per gallon for the week of October 19, 2026, ($6.276 − $1.20) ÷ 6 = about $0.85 per mile, carrier pay. | It cannot be avoided, but it can be checked: ask which index, peg and mpg apply, and whether a quote is all-in or plus fuel. |
| Declared value (full value coverage) | Paying for carrier liability above the tariff's limit. Federal law lets carriers limit liability to a value the shipper declares or agrees to in writing (49 U.S.C. 14706). | Shipper list: $0.75 per $100 declared, $65 minimum, up to $150,000; standard liability is $5.00 per pound per package or $50,000 per shipment, whichever is lower (Estes, Jan 2026, revised Aug 3, 2026). Estes's own example: a $30,000 invoice costs $225. | Compare the standard limit with the invoice value before shipping; buy coverage only where the gap matters, and keep the invoice. |
| Collect on delivery (COD) | The carrier collects payment for the goods from the receiver. | Shipper list: 6% of the COD amount, $100 minimum per shipment (Estes schedule, Nov 2025). | Invoice the customer directly instead of asking the carrier to collect. |
Worked example (illustrative)
The load: the dock day in the diagram. A 53-foot dry van with 22 pallets from a plant in Greenville, SC to a grocery distribution center near Atlanta, about 145 road miles (about 2½ hours of driving plus a 30-minute break and Atlanta traffic). Pickup appointment 7 a.m., delivery appointment 3 p.m., the driver on duty at 5 a.m. and on time at both ends. Rates are Union Pacific's van column (file dated January 2024), which is carrier pay; a shipper buying through an intermediary would see these plus a margin. The lumper receipt amount is an assumption for the example.
| Line | Calculation | Illustrative amount |
|---|---|---|
| Detention at pickup | 4 h on site − 2 h free = 2 h × $50 (cap $300 not reached) | $100 |
| Detention at delivery | 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. = 4 h − 2 h free = 2 h × $50 | $100 |
| Layover | 14-hour window closes at 7 p.m. (49 CFR 395.3); unloaded at 7 a.m.; flat $400, detention stops | $400 |
| Lumper | Assumed $200 receipt, passed through at cost | $200 |
| Fuel surcharge | ($6.276 − $1.20) ÷ 6 = $0.85 per mile × 145 mi | $123 |
| Total beyond the linehaul | $100 + $100 + $400 + $200 + $123 | $923 |
What was avoidable: $600 of it. Freight staged so loading finished inside two hours removes the first $100. A delivery appointment early enough that the receiver's 4-hour hold ends inside the driver's 14 hours removes the $400 layover; booking the 7 a.m. next-day slot this receiver actually works, up front, so the truck arrives on a fresh clock and is unloaded on arrival, removes the second $100 as well. What remains is the fuel surcharge and the DC's lumper policy: $320.
How to keep accessorials off the invoice
- Describe both ends before the load is priced: dock or no dock, forklift or not, residential or limited access, gate rules, receiving hours, appointment required. Our quote-ready checklist lists every item on one page.
- Get the time terms in writing: free time, the hourly detention rate and cap, the layover amount and the TONU cutoff. These are the lines that vary most between the schedules above.
- Book appointments a driver can make inside one shift. The 14-hour window, not the miles, is what turns a late afternoon delivery into an overnight.
- Settle lumpers and pallet exchange in advance, including who pays at the dock and how the receipt travels with the invoice.
- Keep timestamps. Detention claims depend on records: Campbell's requires check-in and check-out times, and Union Pacific requires advance notice; your own timestamps settle disputes in either direction.
- Match the equipment to the site. A liftgate van for a driveway, an open deck for a forklift yard, a hotshot for a jobsite. The hotshot rates guide covers when a hotshot is the cheaper answer.
Where this applies
Hotshot and flatbed freight nationwide (lower 48). Dry van truckload across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee. USA only — no cross-border, no drayage, no rail, no temperature-controlled freight. If you have freight coming up with a difficult pickup or delivery, tell us about your freight and include the conditions from the checker below. We answer every message within 30 minutes, Mon–Fri 8am–5pm ET, and within 6–12 hours at other times.