Flatbed
A flatbed is an open trailer with no sides or roof, used for freight that must be loaded by crane or forklift from the side or above, such as steel, lumber and machinery.
Last reviewed · by the fleetchart dispatch desk
Flatbed work carries additional labour and risk: loads must be secured with chains, straps and binders, and many require tarping in weather.
Rates are typically higher than dry van, and so are the accessorials — tarping pay is standard and worth confirming on the rate confirmation.
Securement is a regulated matter and a common inspection point.
The labour is the part carriers underestimate. Securing a load properly takes time at both ends, tarping in weather is genuinely hard work, and both are performed by the driver rather than a dock crew. When comparing a flatbed rate against a dry van rate, the honest comparison counts those hours — a higher rate per mile that consumes two extra hours per load may not be a better use of the day.