Detention, layovers, and multistop loads: counting the full cost
Hours at a dock don't burn fuel, but they still cost you: your truck earns nothing while your fixed costs keep running. Here's how to count waiting, layovers and extra stops before you book.
The same load, two waits
$1,400 for 500 loaded miles plus 30 deadhead: 530 miles, about 9.6 hours of driving at 55 mph. Running cost is about $1.47 a mile ($0.566 fuel, $0.25 maintenance and other, $0.65 your own pay). Fixed costs are $124 a day, counting a 14-hour working day.
| 2 hours waiting | 10 hours waiting | 10 hours, detention paid | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trip hours | 11.6 | 19.6 | 19.6 |
| Revenue | $1,400.00 | $1,400.00 | $1,800.00 |
| Running costs | $777.07 | $777.07 | $777.07 |
| Fixed costs | $124.00 | $173.92 | $173.92 |
| What's left | $498.93 | $449.00 | $849.00 |
| Per hour | $42.88 | $22.87 | $43.24 |
Eight extra hours at the dock take only $50 off the total. But they nearly halve what the load pays per hour, from $42.88 to $22.87, and those are hours you couldn't spend on the next load. Detention of $50 an hour after two free hours ($400 here) brings it back.
Detention
- Before booking, ask how many free hours there are, the hourly rate after that, and what proof the broker needs: in and out times, signed paperwork.
- Count expected waiting in your trip time. A load that's fine at 2 hours may not be at 8.
- Only count detention as revenue when it's agreed in writing. Until it's paid, it's a hope.
Layovers
A layover is a whole day the truck sits: no miles, but a full day of fixed costs ($124 here) and a day you can't haul anything else. Ask for layover pay before you book, and count the extra day in your profit per day. Profit per day.
Multistop loads
- Get the stop count and stop pay before you quote. Each stop adds time at a dock and often extra miles.
- Add the miles between stops to the loaded miles.
- Add the waiting at every stop to your hours.
- Stop pay is revenue: add it to the rate.
Doing it in KRYSTAL
Enter expected wait or detention hours with every load. They go into trip hours, net per hour and the days of fixed cost, and anything over 5 hours is flagged. Put agreed detention or layover pay in Accessorials. For a multistop load, tick Multi-Stop? and enter the number of stops and the pay per stop. If either is unknown, KRYSTAL answers PASS until you have it. If you know the real door-to-door time, enter it as total elapsed hours. How time is counted.
Count the hours before you book
KRYSTAL measures every load per hour as well as per mile.