You Drive.We Handle theRest

A truck dispatch service finds freight for owner-operators and small fleets, negotiates the rate with the broker, and handles the paperwork and communication around the load. The carrier keeps their own operating authority and remains in control of which loads they accept. The dispatcher works on the carrier’s behalf and is paid by the carrier, not by the broker or shipper.

Truck dispatch services typically charge between 5% and 10% of a load’s gross linehaul, with 6% to 8% most common for carriers running one to five trucks. Some charge a flat weekly fee instead, usually $250 to $500 per truck. Downtown Dispatch charges 6% of linehaul and nothing until the load delivers.

No. A freight broker arranges transportation on behalf of a shipper, holds the payment, and profits from the margin between what the shipper pays and what the carrier receives. A dispatcher works for the carrier, is paid by the carrier, and never takes possession of the freight or the money. Brokers require operating authority from the FMCSA and a surety bond. Downtown Dispatch is structured as the carrier’s agent under a written agreement, works only at the carrier’s direction, and takes no part in arranging transportation on a shipper’s behalf.

Yes. You need active interstate operating authority in your own name. If you’re leased on to another carrier, that carrier controls your freight and a dispatch service can’t help you.

Some do. The practical difficulty is that many brokers won’t load a carrier with authority under 90 days old, and some require six months. A dispatcher can sign you quickly but may struggle to book you, which is why Downtown Dispatch works primarily with carriers who have held authority for twelve months or more.

Yes. Our agreement isn’t exclusive. Book your own freight, use another dispatcher at the same time, whatever suits you.

Ask to see the rate confirmation exactly as the broker issued it, unedited. A dispatcher taking a hidden margin cannot show you that document. We send you every rate confirmation in its original form before anything is booked.

This risk is real with a flat weekly fee, where the dispatcher earns the same whether you’re booked at $1.90 a mile or $2.80. On a percentage fee the incentive reverses: every dollar left on the table costs the dispatcher too. On 6%, a dispatcher who negotiates $300 more keeps $18 and hands you $282.

There’s a one-page agreement, which is legally necessary for a dispatcher to represent you to a broker. There’s no minimum term. Seven days’ notice ends it, either side, no reason required and no penalty.

Weekly, on loads that have delivered. Not on loads booked. No setup fee, no retainer, no monthly minimum.

Your operating authority letter, certificate of insurance, a W-9, and your factoring company’s notice of assignment if you factor. Plus your truck and trailer details and your driver information.

Dry van and reefer. We don’t dispatch flatbed, step deck or RGN, because securement and tarping are specialist work and we’d rather say so than learn on your truck.

Downtown Dispatch operates from Pakistan and dispatches carriers across the United States. It means your dispatcher is working while US-based dispatchers are asleep, which matters when a load needs covering at 4am or a broker needs chasing on a Sunday.