Layover Charge

A layover charge is a fee assessed when a truck driver is required to wait for an extended period, typically overnight or over a weekend, between completing one segment of a trip and beginning the next. Layovers commonly occur when a driver arrives in the delivery area the evening before a morning appointment, when a shipper schedules a pickup on a Monday but the truck arrived in the area on Friday, or when facility closures force the driver to wait until the next business day.

Standard layover charges in the reefer freight market range from $250 to $500 per night, covering the driver's per diem expenses, the cost of the reefer unit running during the wait period, and the opportunity cost of the truck and driver being idle. For refrigerated loads, layover charges include additional reefer fuel costs because the refrigeration unit must continue running throughout the layover period to maintain product temperature.

Avoiding Layover Charges

Layover charges can often be avoided through better coordination of pickup and delivery schedules with transit times. Shippers and receivers who offer flexible appointment windows, including evening and weekend receiving, reduce the likelihood that drivers will need to lay over waiting for an appointment. Accurate transit time estimates from the broker or carrier also help, as they allow the shipper to schedule pickups that align with delivery window availability.

Some carriers waive layover charges for their regular contract customers as a relationship benefit, while others include layover scenarios in their standard rate structure. In either case, the cost of layovers is ultimately borne by the shipper, either through direct charges or through higher base rates that account for the expected frequency of layover events on a given lane.