Line 01 / Owner-operators
A dispatch service for owner operators who already know their numbers
You run one truck, your own authority and your own books. The question isn't whether a dispatcher is nice to have. It's whether 5% of gross buys back more than it costs. Put in your miles and rates below and the receipt answers it.
This page is for the driver who owns the truck and the authority: dry van, reefer, flatbed, step deck, power only, hotshot, a 26 ft box truck or anything else on our list. If you are leased on to a carrier, their dispatch already books your loads; come back when you run under your own MC.
Ready now? Pick your truck
About 2 minutes. Box trucks from 26 ft. No cargo vans or sprinters.
Line 02 / What the market pays
Spot rates are up from last year. So is the cost of running.
| Equipment | September 2025 | Wk of Aug 21, 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry van | $1.63 | $2.21 | +$0.58 |
| Reefer | $1.99 | $2.63 | +$0.64 |
Source: DAT, Dry Van and Reefer Reports, Aug 26, 2026 · checked Oct 2026
Source: DAT, Spot rates rose despite softer September volumes (Oct 15, 2025) · checked Oct 2026
ATRI, cost to run a truck, 2025
$2.336/mi
$1.854 a mile without fuel. Up 3.4% in a year, the highest in the report's history.
Source: ATRI, Operational Costs of Trucking: 2026 Update · checked Oct 2026
EIA, U.S. diesel, week of 2026-09-28
$6.382/gal
+$2.633 a gallon vs a year earlier (2025-09-22)
Source: EIA, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update · checked Oct 2026
Read the two numbers carefully. DAT's spot figures are linehaul only: the fuel surcharge comes on top. ATRI's cost per mile is all-in and includes driver pay and benefits, which an owner-operator takes as profit instead. So neither number is your number, but together they explain why so many single-truck carriers feel squeezed in a year when rates went up.
Spot is also only half the market. Contract freight, the lanes shippers lock in for months, moves on its own schedule, and in summer 2026 DAT reported dry van spot rates above contract for the first time since early 2022. When spot runs hot like that, the loads are there but they go fast, and the carrier who calls first and counters well gets the better ones. When spot cools, the same skill decides who keeps moving and who sits.
The point for you: a better rate only helps if your costs don't eat it first. That is why our owner operator dispatch services start with your cost per mile and your floor rate, and why we quote every load to you all-in, with the empty miles counted. If you have never worked out your floor, the break-even rate calculator does it in a couple of minutes.
Line 03 / Pays for itself?
The only dispatch math that matters: your week, with and without us
Start with your real rate per mile and the miles you run. Then put in the rate you think a dispatcher who works the phones all day could get. Be skeptical: use a small raise. The receipt shows the break-even rate, the raise you need just to cover the fee, and the hours a week you stop spending on the boards.
Your guess. We don't promise a number.
At these numbers the fee pays for itself, and you get about 14 hours a week back.
Your inputs, not our results. Fuel and fixed costs are the same either way, so they are left out.
Fill it in honestly
- + Use last month's average rate per mile, not your best load. Take total gross and divide by loaded miles.
- + Count the hours you actually spend: searching, calling, waiting on callbacks, chasing paperwork and invoices. Most drivers guess low.
- + For the dispatch rate, try your current rate plus 10 cents first, then plus 25. If the math only works at plus 50, don't hire anyone on that hope.
- + Leave fuel and fixed costs out. They are the same with or without a dispatcher, so they don't change the answer.
The fee in cents
At $2.21 a mile, a 5% fee is about 11 cents a mile. That is the bar. For the long version, see dispatch fee cost per mile.
Where the raise comes from
Countering every offer, pricing in deadhead, claiming detention and planning the reload before the trip in. Not one magic broker.
When it doesn't pay
If you already run dedicated freight at a good rate, a dispatcher adds little. We will say so. The dispatch ROI calculator runs the same math over a full year.
Line 04 / What stays yours
You keep the wheel. We keep the phone.
Hiring a dispatcher should not mean handing over your business. Owner-operators who have been burned by forced dispatch know the feeling: a load booked in your name, a broker you never vetted, a rate you would never have taken. That doesn't happen here.
Every load
Offered to you first with lane, miles, deadhead, rate and pay terms. The rate confirmation comes straight to you. You confirm it or you decline it, and a decline costs nothing.
Your lanes
You tell us where you like to run and where you won't go. We plan around it and tell you when a lane is thin that week.
Your home time
Block the days. We plan the last load of the week to land you near home, not 600 miles out.
Your floor rate
We counter anything under your floor. If a load can't clear it, we tell you why and move on.
Your factor and your money
Brokers pay you or your factoring company, never us. We invoice the fee weekly, from the loads you hauled.
What we won't do
We won't book a load without your yes. We won't take money from brokers on your loads. We won't hold your documents or your MC hostage when you leave. We won't push you into factoring. And we won't call a cheap load a good one because the week is slow.
Line 05 / Weekly earnings report
Every Monday, the week on one roll of paper
Best dispatch service for owner operators? We think the answer is the one that shows you what it did. Every week you get a report like the one on the right: each load with its lane, loaded miles and gross, then the totals, the average rate per mile and the fee, worked out from the rate cons you signed.
It is the same data your bookkeeper wants, so it doubles as the start of your weekly books:
- + Gross and miles for your IFTA and income records
- + Detention, layover and TONU collected, line by line
- + Deadhead miles, so you can see what the empty legs cost
- + The dispatch fee, ready to check against your rate cons
Keep the reports in one folder and the end of each quarter gets easier: your loaded miles are already totaled for the IFTA return, and your gross by week is already there for the estimated tax payment. We don't file either one for you, but we hand you clean numbers to file with.
Compare dispatch companies for owner operators by asking each one for a sample report. If they can't show you one, ask yourself how you would check their fee.
EXAMPLE
452 mi · $2.61/mi
586 mi · $2.42/mi
418 mi · $2.78/mi
245 mi · $2.82/mi
781 mi · $2.11/mi
Made-up carrier, lanes and rates, for layout only.
Line 06 / Questions owner-operators ask
Owner operator dispatch services, straight answers
Five questions to ask any dispatcher before you sign
- Is the fee on gross, and is anything charged in a week I don't haul?
- Does every rate confirmation come to me, and can I decline a load without a penalty?
- Is there a setup fee, a minimum or a contract term, and how do I cancel?
- Who does the broker pay: me, my factor, or you? (The right answer is never "us".)
- Can I see a sample weekly report before I start?
Our answers: gross, nothing; yes and yes; none and 30 days notice; you or your factor; you just saw it above.
How much more do I need per mile to cover a 5% fee?
Divide your current rate by 0.95. At $2.21 a mile, the break-even is $2.326, about 12 cents more. On a 2,400-mile week that is roughly $279. Anything above that, plus the hours you get back, is the gain.
Is the dispatch fee tax deductible?
For most owner-operators a dispatch fee is an ordinary and necessary business expense, deducted with your other trucking costs. How you report it depends on how your business is set up. This is general information, not tax advice; confirm with a tax professional who knows trucking.
Can I choose my own loads?
Yes, every time. Each load is offered to you before it is booked, with the lane, miles, deadhead, rate and broker terms. The rate confirmation goes straight to you, and you confirm or turn it down. Declining is free and never counts against you.
What if I want to run only certain lanes?
Tell us on the first call. We plan around your lanes, your home base and your no-go areas, and we will tell you plainly if a lane is thin for your equipment that week. You decide whether to wait for your lane or take a reload that pays.
Do you work with owner-operators who factor?
Yes. Keep your factoring company; we send it the rate con, BOL and invoice in the format it wants. If you don't factor yet and want a quote, our partner is RTS. We may be paid for that referral, and it doesn't change your dispatch fee.
How fast can I start?
Most owner-operators are offered a first load within a few days of the first call. The time goes into carrier packets: brokers want your MC, W-9, insurance certificate and, if you factor, your notice of assignment. Have those ready and setup moves quickly.
How much do owner-operator dispatch services cost?
Many dispatchers charge a percentage of gross, and some charge a flat weekly fee. Ours is 5% for one truck with 6+ months of authority and 7% for a new MC, with no setup fee, no minimum and no contract. The full breakdown is on our fees page.
Factoring question? Read owner-operator factoring for how fees, advances and reserves work on one truck. Full fee details are on our dispatch fees page.
Run the week with a dispatcher on the phone
Send your equipment, lanes and authority age. A dispatcher calls back with your floor rate, your fee tier and what the first week could look like. You still say yes or no to every load.
5% of gross (7% new MC). No setup fee. Cancel with 30 days notice.
EXAMPLE
EXAMPLE week. Not a promise of loads or income.