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Detention and TONU: who gets paid, and does my dispatcher take a cut?

No federal rule sets detention or TONU pay. A broker owes either one only if it is written on the rate confirmation. Whether your dispatcher's percentage also applies to those extras is an agreement term, so ask and get it in writing.

Detention is pay for waiting at a shipper or receiver, and TONU (truck ordered not used) is pay when a booked load cancels. One dispatch guide says both are negotiated contract terms, not federal requirements, and that detention usually starts after a 2-hour free window, with rates that are not standardized.

That guide says the rate confirmation should state the dollar amount, the cutoff time and the conditions for TONU, and it gives sample wording with a $300 figure as an example, not a standard.

Not every dispatch agreement says whether the fee is taken on detention, layover or TONU. Ask which lines of the invoice your fee applies to, and have the answer written into the agreement. See the linehaul question for the same issue on fuel surcharge.

Example. A load pays $2,000 linehaul and the broker adds $150 of detention. At 6%, a fee on linehaul only is $120. A fee on the whole $2,150 is $129. The $9 gap is small here but grows with every extra, so write down which one applies.

General information, not legal advice. Rules change. Check the sources and talk to a transportation lawyer before you sign or start.

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Last reviewed Thu, Nov 12, 2026 · Where our data comes from