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Detention, layover and TONU: getting paid for your time

Updated October 2026

Your time is worth money. When a shipper or receiver holds you up, or a load falls through, accessorial charges help make it right.

The common ones

Detention: pay for waiting past the free time, often two hours, at pickup or delivery. Layover: pay when you're held overnight or longer. TONU (truck ordered, not used): a fee when a load is canceled after you were dispatched. Lumper: the cost of unloading help, which should be reimbursed if you pay it.

How to collect

Get the terms on the rate confirmation before you book. Record your arrival and departure times, and get them signed on the paperwork or saved in your ELD or app. Tell the broker as soon as detention starts. Bill it with your invoice, with the times attached.

Try it: Detention pay calculator

Spending hours on load boards? A dispatcher can book loads for you. Find a dispatcher at CDLDispatch.com.

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