How to read a rate confirmation

What is a rate confirmation and why does every field matter?

A rate confirmation, or rate con, is the document a broker sends to confirm a load's lane, dates, rate and terms before the truck moves. Once signed by both parties it is the contract for that load. Every field is a term you are agreeing to, and the ones you did not read are still binding.

The rate con sits underneath the broker-carrier agreement you signed when you set up with that broker, and it fills in the specifics for one shipment. Brokers are required to keep a record of each transaction they arrange, and your signed rate con is your copy of the deal. When there is a dispute about detention, a late fee, a lumper or the rate itself, the rate con is what both sides point at. Read it as a contract, because that is what it is.

Get in the habit of reading it in the same order every time. The fields below are in the order most rate cons print them; a few brokers move things around, but the content is the same. MileBrain reads the document into a draft load with the rate confirmation reader so the lane, dates, rate and stops are on screen next to your breakeven, but the reading is still yours to do.

What does each field on a rate confirmation mean?

The header identifies the broker and the load. The stops section lists every pickup and delivery with addresses and appointment times. The freight section gives commodity, weight, equipment and temperature. The rate section shows the linehaul, fuel surcharge and accessorials. The terms section covers payment, detention, lumpers, required documents and penalties.

Header

• Broker name, MC number, address and contact. Match the MC number against the broker you actually set up with, and the email domain against the broker’s real domain. FMCSA’s SAFER Company Snapshot shows the authority status behind any MC or USDOT number in seconds.
• Load, order or reference number. It goes on your invoice and your bill of lading; without it the payable clerk cannot match the two.
• Carrier name, MC and contact. Your details. If they are wrong, the payment will be too.

Stops

• Shipper and receiver, full addresses, contact names and phone numbers.
• Appointment times or windows for each stop, and whether they are firm appointments or first-come-first-served. This is what detention free time is measured from.
• Special instructions: check-in procedures, dock hours, driver assist, tarping, straps, pallet exchange.

Freight

• Commodity, piece count and weight. Weight against your equipment and your scale ticket; a rate con that says 42,000 pounds and a trailer that scales at 46,000 is a problem you want to find at the shipper, not the scale house.
• Equipment type and any temperature setting, with continuous or cycle.
• Hazmat class if any, which changes what you need in the cab.

Rate

• Linehaul, the base rate, flat or per mile.
• Fuel surcharge, separate or “all-in”. All-in means the linehaul includes fuel and nothing adjusts if diesel moves.
• Accessorials: detention, layover, truck order not used, stop-off pay, tarp pay, driver assist. Each one is money only if it is written here.
• Total, the figure that should appear on your invoice.

Terms

• Payment terms: net 30 is common; quick-pay options and their fee, if offered.
• Lumpers: who pays, whether you advance it, and how you are reimbursed. Receipt required, always.
• Required documents for payment: signed BOL, proof of delivery, lumper receipts, scale tickets, sometimes photos.
• Penalties: late fees, missed appointment fees, fees for no tracking, fees for a wrong trailer. Read every one.
• Prohibitions: no double brokering, no co-loading, no re-consigning without written consent.
• Cancellation and truck order not used terms.
• Signature block for both parties. An unsigned rate con is an offer, not a contract.

What are the red flags on a rate confirmation?

Watch for a rate far above the lane, a broker MC that is new or does not match the email domain, an all-in rate with no accessorials, blank detention or payment terms, penalties out of proportion to the rate, lumpers you must pay without a reimbursement line, and instructions to change payment or factoring details by email.

• Too good a rate. A load paying 40 percent above the lane is either a genuine emergency, in which case the broker will say so, or the setup for a load that never pays. Verify the broker before you move.
• Identity that does not line up. The MC on the rate con is not the MC you set up with; the email is a free webmail address or a lookalike domain; the phone number is not the one on the broker’s public record. FMCSA’s page on operating authority explains what an MC number is and why brokers must hold one; the Company Snapshot shows whether this one is active, and the granted date is on the Licensing & Insurance site under Authority History.
• All-in with nothing else. A flat rate with no detention, no layover and no TONU means every wait and every cancellation is free to the broker.
• Blanks. Missing appointment times, weight, payment terms or the total. A blank is a term the broker fills in later.
• Disproportionate penalties. A $500 late fee on a $900 load, or a fee for every hour without tracking updates.
• Lumpers with no reimbursement clause. You will pay $300 at the dock and argue about it for a month.
• Changes by email after signing. Especially changes to where payment goes. A request to update remit-to or factoring details on a signed load is a fraud pattern; confirm by phone with the number on the broker’s public record.
• Pressure to sign now. A broker who cannot wait ten minutes for you to read four pages is not a broker whose four pages you want to sign.

What should you check before you sign and dispatch the truck?

Confirm the broker's identity and authority, confirm the rate is above your cost per mile including the deadhead to get there, confirm every accessorial you might need is priced, confirm the appointment times fit your hours of service, confirm the weight fits your equipment, and confirm the payment terms and documents. Then sign and file it on the load.

1. Who is paying? Broker name, MC and email domain match your setup packet and the public record. Authority active. If you have hauled for them before, what does your own aging say about how fast they pay?
2. Does it pay? Rate total divided by all miles including the empty miles to the pickup, against your breakeven per mile. Not the linehaul per loaded mile; the total per all miles. The cost per mile guide shows how deadhead changes the answer.
3. What happens when things go wrong? Detention rate and free time, layover, TONU, all written. Notice requirements understood. See the detention guide for what to look for.
4. Can the truck legally do it? Appointment times against the hours you have left today and tomorrow. Weight against the trailer and the axles. Equipment and temperature as specified.
5. How do you get paid? Payment terms, documents required, where to send the invoice, quick-pay fee if you will use it.
6. Sign, return, file. Keep the signed copy attached to the load, with the BOL and the POD when they arrive. Invoice from the signed total, with the load number on it.

Five minutes, every load, and most of the disputes a small carrier has never happen. The parts a computer can do, reading the fields into a load and putting your breakeven next to the rate, MileBrain does on the free plan; what that includes is on the pricing page. The signature is still yours.