TONU Fees: How to Claim and Actually Get Paid

1. What TONU is and when it applies

TONU stands for truck ordered not used. A broker or shipper orders a truck, the carrier accepts the load and dispatches the driver, and then the freight is not there to haul. The load was cancelled, the product was not ready, the shipment was double booked, or the driver arrives and is told to leave empty. The carrier has still spent real money: deadhead miles, fuel, driver time, and the earning day that truck can no longer sell to anyone else. TONU is the fee that compensates the carrier for that wasted trip.

The strength of a claim depends on how far the trip progressed. A cancellation that arrives hours before pickup, before the truck has moved, is a weak claim, because the loss is small. A cancellation after the driver has deadheaded to the facility, checked in, and waited is a strong claim, because the costs are real and documented. Cancellations after arrival are the clearest case, and the ones brokers most expect to pay when the paperwork is in order.

TONU is often confused with detention, and the difference matters. Detention pays for waiting at the dock while a load still happens: the truck is held past its free time, then loaded or unloaded late. TONU pays when the load never happens at all. A third fee, layover, covers a driver held overnight. Naming the right fee matters: a broker's accounts payable team processes each accessorial against its own rules, and a claim filed under the wrong name is easy to deny.

2. What TONU pays: the market norms

Across the market, TONU commonly falls in the $150–$400 range, with $250 typical for a standard dry van cancellation after arrival. Treat these as market norms, not a tariff. No law sets a TONU amount, and no carrier is guaranteed any figure. What a claim pays depends on the equipment, the distance deadheaded, how tight capacity is that day, and above all on what the rate confirmation says.

The pattern is predictable. A local cancellation with a short deadhead usually lands at the lower end. A reefer or flatbed truck, a long deadhead to a rural shipper, a team load, or a cancellation that burns the truck's Friday supports the higher end, because the real loss is larger.

Because the amount is contractual, the same cancellation can be worth $250 to one carrier and nothing to another. The carrier who gets paid is not the one who shouts loudest. It is the one whose rate confirmation named the fee in advance. That is why the next step, taken before dispatch, matters more than anything done after the load falls apart.

3. How to claim a TONU fee starts before dispatch: get it in the rate confirmation

The rate confirmation is the contract for the load, and a TONU claim is only as strong as that document. Before the truck rolls, read it line by line: addresses, appointment times, equipment and weight, the reference number, and the accessorial terms. On many rate confirmations the accessorial section is missing, or covers detention and says nothing about cancellation. If TONU is not mentioned, ask the broker, in writing, to add it and send a revised rate confirmation before dispatch.

A workable clause is short. Ask for wording along these lines:

Sample clause: "TONU: If this load is cancelled after dispatch, or the freight is not available on arrival, through no fault of the carrier, broker will pay carrier a TONU fee of $250. Carrier will notify broker immediately on arrival and will provide check-in records and location history on request."

Two parts of that clause do real work. The trigger is written down, so there is no later argument about which situation the fee covers. And the carrier's side of the bargain is written down too: immediate notification and proof on request. Brokers agree to clauses like this far more readily before dispatch, because then the conversation is routine. After a cancellation, it is a dispute.

If a broker refuses to put any TONU wording in writing, that is information. You can still take the load, but take it knowingly: you are accepting the cancellation risk yourself. A verbal promise is hard to enforce, because the person who made it may not be the person who approves the invoice. Checking the rate confirmation properly on every load, including the accessorial lines most people skip, is where most TONU money is won or lost.

4. The proof pack: 5 things to capture at the shipper

When a load is cancelled, the driver's next fifteen minutes decide whether the claim gets paid. Memory fades, stories differ, and the broker was not there. The proof pack shows what happened without relying on anyone's recollection. Capture all five items before the truck leaves the facility.

1. The signed rate confirmation. Keep the final version, including any revised copy with the TONU clause, plus the original dispatch email. This proves the load was real, the truck was ordered, and the terms agreed.

2. A timestamped arrival. Record the check-in time and the name of the person who turned the driver away. A signed or stamped check-in sheet is ideal; a note in the dispatch system with the exact time is the minimum.

3. The ELD or GPS record. The truck's location history shows the deadhead route, the arrival time, and how long the truck sat at the facility. Save the screenshot or export while it is fresh. It is the most objective evidence in the pack, and the hardest to argue with.

4. Photos. Photograph the facility signage, the dock area, and the empty trailer. Photos carry time and location data and answer the claim that the driver went to the wrong address or never showed up.

5. The broker communications. Save the cancellation message, the email thread, and a note of every call: who said what, and at what time. If a reason was given, freight not ready, load covered by another carrier, order cancelled by the customer, record it word for word. A broker's own explanation is powerful evidence.

5. How to claim a TONU fee in writing: the exact email to send the broker

Send the claim the same day, while the load is still fresh in the broker's system, and keep the tone flat and factual. You are submitting paperwork, not starting a fight. Attach the proof pack, put the load number in the subject line, and state the amount, the timeline, and the agreed clause in a few lines. Copy the template below as it is; replace the brackets with your details.

Subject: TONU claim, Load [#____], [Pickup City, ST], [Date]

Hi [Broker name],

I am writing to claim the TONU fee for load [#____], PO [#____], booked for pickup today at [shipper name, city, ST] for [Carrier name], MC [#______].

Our truck was dispatched on this load and arrived at the shipper at [time]. On arrival the driver was told [the load had been cancelled by the customer / the freight was not ready / the load had been given to another carrier]. The truck left empty at [time] after [number] deadhead miles.

The rate confirmation for this load includes a TONU fee of $[250] where a load is cancelled after dispatch or the freight is not available on arrival. Our TONU invoice is attached, together with the signed rate confirmation, the check-in record, the truck's location history, photos from the facility, and your cancellation message.

Please confirm approval of the $[250] TONU so we can close this load out, and let me know if your team needs anything further from us. Payment on the invoice terms is appreciated.

Thank you,
[Your name], Dispatch
[Carrier name], MC [#______]
[Phone] · [Email]

Notice what the email does not do. It does not accuse the broker of bad faith, threaten consequences, or bury the amount in a long story. It gives the approver everything needed to say yes in one reading: load number, timeline, clause, amount, and proof. Claims written this way are processed. Claims written as complaints are forwarded, parked, and forgotten.

6. If the broker refuses: the escalation ladder

Some claims are still refused, usually with one of three answers: TONU was never agreed, the truck arrived late or at the wrong place, or the broker's customer refused to pay them. Work through the ladder in order, and keep every step in writing.

Step one: restate the claim once, with the full proof pack. Ask the broker to say, in writing, exactly which part is disputed. If the answer is that their customer will not pay, point calmly to the rate confirmation: your agreement is with the broker who ordered the truck, and their arrangement with their customer is separate. Many claims settle here, once the proof reaches a supervisor rather than the first person who answered.

Step two: involve your factoring company, if you factor. Send them the invoice and the proof pack. Factoring companies deal with broker payment behaviour every day, they can see a broker's payment record, and a query from them often moves a claim a single carrier could not. Their collections team can also advise whether the broker pays these claims or fights them as a habit.

Step three: the formal routes, used last. In general terms, unpaid claims against a broker can be pursued through a claim against the broker's surety bond, and a complaint can be filed through the FMCSA's complaint channels. Both routes run on paperwork, which is why the proof pack matters, and both are slow enough to be last steps rather than first ones. Most brokers would rather approve a documented $250 claim than deal with a bond claim over it. Stay professional throughout: the broker you claim against today may have the load you need next month.

Common questions

Is a TONU fee guaranteed by law?

No. TONU is a contractual accessorial fee, not a regulated charge. Whether it is owed, and how much, depends on what the rate confirmation and your agreement with the broker say. That is why getting the clause added before dispatch matters most.

What is the difference between TONU and detention?

Detention pays for time spent waiting at a facility while a load still happens, usually after a free time allowance expires. TONU pays when the load does not happen at all and the truck leaves empty. A driver can occasionally have both on one trip: a long wait at the dock, followed by a cancellation.

How quickly should I claim a TONU fee?

The same day. Notify the broker as soon as the load is cancelled, and send the email and invoice while the load is still current in their system. Claims sent weeks later are harder to verify, easier to dispute, and often fall outside the broker's internal window for approving accessorials.

Can I claim TONU if the truck never left the yard?

It is a much weaker claim, because the loss is smaller and no deadhead was run. If the cancellation freed the truck in time to take other work, many brokers will refuse, and that refusal is hard to fight. The claim grows stronger with every mile travelled toward the shipper.

Who pays TONU, the broker or the shipper?

The carrier claims from the broker who ordered the truck and signed the rate confirmation. Whether the broker then recovers the fee from their customer is between the broker and the customer. The carrier has no contract with the shipper on a brokered load, and should not be sent to chase them for it.

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