Rate confirmation

The rate confirmation — almost always called a rate con — is the document that turns a phone conversation into a binding arrangement. It names the broker and the carrier, the load number, pickup and delivery locations with appointment times, the commodity and weight, and the money: line haul, fuel surcharge, and any agreed accessorials such as detention or extra stops.

It matters financially because it is the only record of what you were promised. When an invoice is short-paid, the rate con is what you point at. When a broker disputes detention, the rate con's terms decide it.

It is also the single richest document in a trucking business. Nearly every number needed to judge a load — rate, miles, origin, destination, broker, surcharges — is on that one page, which is why it is the first thing Fleetchart reads.

Read it before you sign, not after you deliver. Check that the rate matches what you agreed on the phone, that the pickup and delivery appointments are ones you can make, and that detention, layover, lumper and extra-stop terms are written down. Anything left out is something you will have to argue for later. Watch for fines listed in the terms, such as a charge for late check calls or a missed appointment, because those come off your pay.

The miles on a rate con are usually loaded miles only. The empty miles to reach the pickup are not on it, and neither is your cost. So the rate con tells you what the load pays, not what it earns. To know that, you need your deadhead and your own cost per mile.

Keep every rate con with the load it belongs to, alongside the bill of lading and proof of delivery. Together those three are what a broker or a factoring company needs to pay you, and what you point to in any dispute.