TONU (truck ordered, not used)
TONU stands for "truck ordered, not used". It is a flat fee the broker pays when a load you were booked on is cancelled after you have been dispatched or have already arrived at the shipper.
Why TONU exists
Once a truck is dispatched, the carrier has spent money: deadhead miles, fuel, driver hours, and often another load turned down. If the shipper cancels, the freight never moves and the line haul is never earned. TONU is the only pay that trip will produce. Without it in writing, the usual answer to "who pays for my empty miles?" is nobody.
What makes a TONU clause worth something
- A fixed dollar amount. "TONU: $X" is clear. "TONU may be paid" or "TONU at broker discretion" is a promise to think about it.
- A clear trigger. Does it apply once you are dispatched, only once you arrive, or only if you are "on site and checked in"? A narrow trigger means a cancellation an hour before arrival pays nothing.
- No dependency on the shipper. Some clauses say TONU is paid only if the shipper pays the broker. That puts your pay in a contract you are not part of.
- Proof you can produce. Keep the dispatch time, your location record and the cancellation message. A text that says "load cancelled" with a timestamp is often the whole case.
TONU versus layover and detention
TONU covers a load that never moves. Detention covers waiting past free time on a load that does move. Layover covers being held overnight or into the next day. One trip can involve more than one of them, for example a long wait followed by a cancellation, and a rate con can address each separately.
What the Rate Con Checker flags
If the rate con has no TONU language (it looks for "TONU" or "truck ordered not used"), the checker marks a flag. If TONU appears near words like "discretion", "may be paid" or "if approved", it is also a flag, because the fee may never be paid. If TONU is written with a dollar amount, the checker shows the amount as OK.
What to ask for
Please add a TONU of $[amount] if the load is cancelled after dispatch.
The checker's fix-request message suggests $250 as a starting number. That figure is a placeholder you can change, not a market rate: what is reasonable depends on how far you deadheaded and what you gave up to take the load. Ask for the amount in writing before you roll, because once you are dispatched you have less leverage.
If a load is cancelled
Ask for the cancellation in writing, send your TONU invoice with the rate con attached, and keep both. If the broker refuses, your signed rate con with a fixed TONU amount is what turns an argument into an unpaid invoice you can pursue.