Flatbed rates track construction and industrial output far more than retail, which is why flatbed can be firm in a week when van is soft. The number also contains something van rates do not: real unpaid physical labour. Tarping and securing a load is work, and it takes time.
A single "rate per mile" hides four different things. Brokers and shippers argue about the wrong one all the time, so here is the whole stack, using the live numbers above.
| Component | Per mile | Who it belongs to |
|---|---|---|
| Line haul | — | The truck’s core revenue — driver pay, tractor, trailer, maintenance, insurance. |
| Fuel surcharge | — | Moves with the DOE average. Quoted separately in contract freight, buried inside the number in spot freight. How fuel surcharge works → |
| Carrier total | — | What actually lands on the carrier’s rate confirmation. |
| Broker margin | — | Covers coverage work, credit risk, claims exposure and the brokerage’s own cost of doing business. |
| Shipper pays | — | The all-in number, before any accessorial actually incurred on the load. |
The line haul and fuel split shown is an industry-typical approximation — roughly 78/22 at current diesel levels. On a real load it moves with the lane and the week, which is exactly why fuel is normally quoted as its own line.
Most failed bookings are not arguments about money — they are a load that physically does not fit the trailer that showed up. These are the numbers to put in a posting.
| Trailer length | 48 ft and 53 ft; 48 ft is still the flatbed standard |
| Deck width | 102″ legal — anything wider needs permits |
| Deck height | ~60″ from the ground, giving about 8⁄6 of legal load height |
| Max payload | 48,000–52,000 lb — more than a van, because there is no trailer box |
| Securement | Chains, binders, straps, edge protection, coil racks, tarps |
Commonly shipped on flatbed: Steel and coil, lumber and building materials, machinery, pipe and tubing, roofing, precast concrete, HVAC units, farm and construction equipment.
Benchmark rate per mile multiplied by real lane distance. Useful as a starting point for a conversation, not as a quote — direction, season and appointment requirements all move the true number.
| Lane | Distance | Carrier gets | Shipper pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houston, TX → Denver, CO | 1,030 mi | — | — |
| Birmingham, AL → Chicago, IL | 660 mi | — | — |
| Pittsburgh, PA → Charlotte, NC | 450 mi | — | — |
Distances are practical truck miles and will differ slightly from a car routing. Work out your own cost per mile →
| Period | What happens |
|---|---|
| Jan–Feb | Weakest. Northern construction stops and steel volume slows. |
| Mar–May | Sharp climb as building season opens across the Midwest and South. |
| Jun–Sep | Peak. Construction, roofing and infrastructure all running at once. |
| Oct–Dec | Tapering, though the South and Southwest stay active well into winter. |
Use a step deck the moment your load passes about 8⁄6 in height. A flatbed can physically carry it, but it will not be legal, and the driver — not you — is the one who gets the citation.
Flatbed is where a bad match costs the most, because the truck usually cannot discover the problem until it is standing at the shipper. Deck length, legal width, height and securement gear belong in the posting — not in the phone call after the driver arrives and says no. One wasted trip and that carrier prices your lane as a risk from then on.
Give dimensions and weight up front, including whether the load needs tarping. A flatbed quote issued without dimensions is a guess, and the correction always arrives after the truck is already at your gate — which is the most expensive moment for it to arrive.
Line haul is the number everyone negotiates. Accessorials are the number that decides whether the lane was actually profitable. LoadBoot publishes its terms rather than renegotiating them load by load, so both sides know before the truck moves.
| Accessorial | LoadBoot standard | When it bites |
|---|---|---|
| Detention | $60/hr after 2 free hours | Four hours at a dock can exceed the whole margin on a short lane. |
| Layover | $250/day | A missed appointment that pushes delivery to the next day. |
| TONU | $250 | Truck ordered, then the load is not there or does not fit. |
| Lumper | Reimbursed with receipt | Grocery and food distribution, almost every time. |
Worth knowing whichever side of the load you are on. A broker who understands the carrier’s floor covers freight faster; a shipper who understands it stops wondering why the cheapest quote keeps falling through. Against a typical all-in operating cost of $1.90 per mile for a small carrier, the current flatbed benchmark leaves:
$1.90 is a working average for a one-truck operation. Fleets with newer equipment and better fuel programmes run below it; an older truck with high maintenance can sit well above. Calculate your actual number →
Rate is rarely the reason a flatbed load sits. It sits because a carrier cannot tell from the posting whether the load is legal on his trailer, how long he will wait, or what he gets paid if it goes wrong. Five things fix most of that.
| Give length, width, height and weight — all four | A flatbed quote without dimensions is a guess, and the correction arrives after the truck is at your gate. This is the most expensive moment for it to arrive. |
| Say whether it needs tarping, and how many tarps | Tarping is an hour of physical work in whatever weather exists that day. It carries a fee, and a load posted without mentioning it will be re-quoted on arrival. |
| Describe the securement the freight needs | Coil racks, edge protection, chains versus straps — not every flatbed carries everything, and a driver without the right gear cannot legally load. |
| State how it loads | Crane, forklift, or driver-assisted changes how long the truck sits and whether the driver needs specific PPE or site training. |
| Flag anything over-dimensional early | Past 102″ wide or 8′6″ tall you are in permit territory, which is a different rate structure and a different set of carriers entirely. |
A national benchmark is an average of very different markets. Direction matters as much as distance — the same lane run the other way can price completely differently.
| Versus national | Markets |
|---|---|
| Above national | The Northeast and Pacific Northwest, where flatbed density is thin, and anywhere with active infrastructure work. |
| Around national | The steel corridor from Pittsburgh through Ohio and Indiana; the Southeast building-products belt. |
| Below national | Outbound from Houston and the Gulf Coast, where flatbed supply pools around industrial and energy freight. |
Not automatically. Tarping is extra physical labour and normally carries its own fee. If the quote does not name a tarp charge, confirm whether tarping is expected before you book.
Securement equipment, real physical loading work, a smaller pool of qualified drivers, and far more exposure to weather and load-shift liability.
Generally anything beyond 102″ wide, about 13⁄6 tall overall, or 53 ft long. Oversize needs permits and often escorts, which changes the rate structure completely.
Typically 48,000–52,000 lb — more than a dry van, because there is no trailer box eating into the weight allowance.
About 8⁄6 of freight on a standard 60″ deck, keeping the total under the 13⁄6 legal limit. Taller than that and you need a step deck.
The driver is legally responsible for securement under FMCSA rules, but the shipper is responsible for how the freight is presented and loaded. Both matter when something shifts.
During peak construction season, two to three days ahead on a normal lane. Same-day flatbed in July is expensive when it is available at all.
Posting is free for brokers and shippers — no subscription and no per-post fee. Every carrier who can accept your load has had authority, insurance and safety checked first, every load carries live GPS, and the accessorial terms above are written down before the truck moves rather than argued about after.