The most expensive loads you book are the ones you never actually evaluated — you just grabbed them because the linehaul number looked good. A load that pays $2.90 a mile can lose money once you add deadhead, a dead-end lane, and a broker who pays in 60 days. This scorecard gives you a repeatable, five-minute framework to score any load before you say yes, so your revenue reflects profit and not just posted rate.
Step 1: Run the All-In Rate Per Mile
Posted linehaul is not your real number. Take the total pay, then divide by loaded plus deadhead miles — not loaded miles alone. A $1,400 load over 500 loaded miles looks like $2.80, but if you deadhead 100 miles to the pickup, your true rate is $1,400 ÷ 600 = $2.33. Benchmark that all-in figure against the current market using a tool like DAT Trendlines before you decide it is a good load. If your all-in RPM falls below your operating cost per mile, the load is a loss no matter how strong the headline rate looks.
Step 2: Score the Lane, Not Just the Load
A strong rate into a weak market is a trap. Before booking, ask what the truck does after delivery. Score the destination on backhaul availability: is it a freight hub with plenty of outbound loads, or a dead zone where the truck sits two days waiting for a cheap reload? A slightly lower rate into a strong outbound market usually beats a premium rate into a hole. Check outbound load-to-truck ratios for the delivery region — tracking services like Trucking Dive’s DAT summaries show which markets are tight and which are soft.
Confirm the broker’s phone number and authority in SAFER before you book — the two minutes it takes is the cheapest insurance in freight.
FMCSA SAFER System
Step 3: Vet the Broker’s Credit and Authority
The best rate in the world is worthless if you never get paid. Before you commit, confirm the broker holds active authority and a bond in FMCSA SAFER, and check their days-to-pay reputation. Brokers with a history of slow pay or a brand-new MC number are a cash-flow risk — Truckstop and other load boards flag credit scores and payment days for exactly this reason. If you factor invoices, confirm your factoring company will even buy that broker’s receivables before you haul.
Step 4: Read the Accessorial and Detention Terms
The rate confirmation is where hidden losses live. Before signing, confirm detention pay starts at a reasonable free-time window, that layover and TONU (truck ordered not used) terms are spelled out, and that lumper fees are reimbursed. A load with no detention protection at a slow-loading shipper can quietly erase your margin. Score the terms, not just the rate.
The Five-Minute Scorecard
Run every load through these five checks before you book. If it fails two or more, pass:
- All-in RPM: Total pay divided by loaded plus deadhead miles clears your cost per mile with margin.
- Deadhead: Miles to pickup are under your threshold (many operators cap it at 10–15% of loaded miles).
- Backhaul: The delivery market has outbound freight, not a dead-end lane.
- Broker credit: Active authority and bond confirmed in SAFER, acceptable days-to-pay, factorable.
- Terms: Detention, layover, TONU, and lumper reimbursement are defined on the rate con.
Standardize this into a one-page checklist or a saved note so every dispatcher on your desk scores loads the same way. Consistency is what turns instinct into a process you can train and scale.
Put It to Work This Week
With van spot rates over $3.00 and flatbed at record highs this July, brokers are working harder to shave carrier pay — which makes disciplined load scoring more valuable, not less. Pick your three worst lanes from last month, run them back through this scorecard, and you will usually find the exact leak. Start scoring every load this week, and by month’s end your revenue per truck should reflect loads you chose on purpose, not loads you simply accepted.
