Lumper fee
A lumper is a third-party crew a receiver uses to unload trucks. The carrier often has to pay the lumper at the dock, so the question that matters is whether, and how fast, the broker pays it back.
How lumper payments usually work
At many grocery and retail warehouses the driver doesn't unload, and neither do the receiver's employees: a lumper service does, and it wants payment before the truck leaves. The broker typically provides the money (often through a fuel-card check code or a direct payment) or asks the carrier to pay and send the receipt for reimbursement. Either way, the rate con decides who ends up bearing the cost.
Lumper charges vary a lot by facility and load. The Rate Con Checker's help text gives $100 to $400 as an illustration of the range drivers report; treat that as anecdotal, not a measured average.
Wording that changes who pays
- "Lumper reimbursed with receipt": the normal arrangement. Check the deadline for sending the receipt and whether reimbursement is paid with the freight bill (net 30 or longer) or separately.
- "Broker will provide lumper payment" or a fuel-card check code: the best case, since you aren't floating the money.
- "Carrier is responsible for lumper fees" or "lumper at carrier's expense": you pay and keep the cost. Price the load accordingly or ask for it to be removed.
- Silence: no one has agreed to anything. Ask before you go if the receiver uses lumpers.
Unloading time is on-duty time
Even when a lumper does the work, the driver is usually waiting with the truck. Federal rules count time attending a vehicle being loaded or unloaded, and time giving or receiving receipts for the shipment, as on-duty time (on-duty time, 49 CFR 395.2). Long lumper lines therefore cost hours as well as dollars; that's where detention terms come in.
What the Rate Con Checker flags
- Lumper near "carrier is responsible", "at carrier's cost or expense" or "not reimbursed": red flag.
- Lumper mentioned without reimbursement language: flag.
- Lumper with "reimburse", "paid by broker", "advance", Comchek or EFS nearby: OK.
- No lumper mention: a note reminding you to ask, since many loads don't need one.
What to ask for
Please confirm lumper fees are reimbursed in full within 24 hours of receiving the receipt.
Get the receipt with the lumper company's name, the amount, the date and the load or PO number. Photograph it before you leave the dock and send it the same day. A receipt sent a week late is the easiest one for a broker to dispute.