Equipment
Dry Van Dispatch Services
Dry van is the most common trailer on the road and the easiest to keep loaded, which cuts both ways: there is always freight, and there is always someone willing to haul it cheaper.
Our job on a dry van is less about finding a load and more about finding the right one — because on this equipment, the difference between a well-dispatched week and a poorly-dispatched one is almost entirely lane selection and deadhead.
Freight We Book On Dry Van
- Retail and consumer goods
- Packaged food and beverage
- Paper products
- Electronics
- Automotive parts
- General palletised freight
What We Watch On Every Load
- Weight limits on heavy palletised freight
- Drop and hook versus live load productivity
- Appointment-driven receivers with strict windows
- Lumper fees and who reimburses them
The market
What Running Dry Van Is Actually Like
Dry van is the largest freight market in the country and the easiest equipment to keep loaded. That cuts both ways. There is always something to haul, and there is always another carrier willing to haul it for less.
Because availability is rarely the constraint, the difference between a good dry van week and a poor one is almost entirely lane selection and deadhead. Two operators running identical trailers on the same corridors can finish the month thousands apart purely on how many empty miles sat between their loads.
The freight itself is generally straightforward — palletised, dock-to-dock, no temperature control and no securement beyond load bars and straps. What makes it demanding is volume: more loads per month than most equipment types, which means more appointments, more facilities and more paperwork moving through the same week.
Our focus on dry van is therefore less about hunting scarce freight and more about filtering. Screening out the loads that pay well on paper but strand you, and building weeks where each delivery lands near the next pickup.
What Moves The Rate On Dry Van
Lane balance more than anything. A lane with heavy inbound and thin outbound pays poorly outbound regardless of the commodity. Beyond that: drop-and-hook versus live load (live load costs you hours the rate rarely covers), whether the receiver is known for detention, and whether a lumper fee is being quietly pushed onto the carrier.
Seasonality
Retail replenishment builds from late summer through to the holidays, which is when dry van capacity tightens and rates firm up. January and February are typically the softest months of the year. Plan the strong months to carry the weak ones rather than expecting the market to stay level.
47 states
Where Dry Van Demand Is Strongest
These states show structurally elevated dry van demand based on their dominant industries. Each page has current freight market data for that state.
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Other equipment
We Also Dispatch
Reefer
Refrigerated freight dispatch — produce, protein and temperature-controlled loads nationwide.
Flatbed
Flatbed dispatch for steel, building materials, machinery and open-deck freight.
Step Deck
Step deck and drop deck dispatch for taller freight that will not clear on a standard flatbed.
Power Only
Power only dispatch — pulling shipper or broker-provided trailers without owning the box.
Box Truck
Box truck and straight truck dispatch for regional, expedited and final-mile freight.
Questions
Dry Van Dispatch — Common Questions
Is dry van worth running given the competition?
Yes, provided you are disciplined about deadhead. The competition suppresses headline rates, but the sheer volume of freight means you should never be sitting — and consistent utilisation at a moderate rate frequently beats sporadic work at a high one.
What weight should I plan for?
Most dry van freight runs comfortably under legal weight, but heavy palletised commodities like beverages, paper and canned goods can put you close to the limit. We flag weight on any load where it is likely to matter.
Do you handle lumper fees?
We negotiate reimbursement up front and make sure it is on the rate confirmation, then include the receipt in the invoicing package. Lumper fees absorbed and never billed are one of the commonest quiet losses in dry van.
Try it first
See It Before You Commit
We do not publish rates, because the honest answer depends on your equipment, your lanes and how you run. Instead we offer a free trial week: we find you a dry van load, negotiate the rate, dispatch it and handle the broker. If the week justified it we carry on. If not, you owe nothing and you keep the revenue.
Running dry van? Let's get you loaded.
Talk to a dispatcher today. No long-term contract, no obligation on the first call.