Reefer Loads Aren’t Paying Enough
Last updated:
Reefer should pay a meaningful premium over dry van, and it often does on the posting without covering what it actually costs to run. The gap is usually three things people don’t put in their cost per mile: reefer fuel, dwell time, and claims exposure.
Your reefer cost per mile isn’t your dry van cost per mile
Reefer fuel. The unit burns diesel independently of the tractor, running through loading, transit and often overnight. If your CPM was calculated on dry van operation, it’s understated for every reefer load you run.
Maintenance. The unit is a second engine with its own service schedule and its own failures.
Insurance. Higher cargo values and temperature-excursion exposure mean higher premiums.
Recalculate CPM specifically for reefer operation. Many carriers are quoting rates against a number that describes a different truck. How to calculate it.
The dwell problem is a rate problem
Grocery distribution centres and produce facilities are among the slowest in freight. A reefer carrier absorbs more unpaid waiting than almost anyone, and detention pay rarely covers what the time was worth.
Which means a facility known for six-hour waits needs a higher rate, not just a detention clause. The clause is a fallback; the rate is the actual fix. More on reefer detention.
Price the claims risk
A temperature excursion doesn’t cost you the margin on the load. It costs the value of the freight, and produce or pharma claims run well past what the haul paid.
That risk is part of what the premium is for. If you’re running reefer at rates that only slightly exceed dry van, you’re carrying the exposure for free.
Negotiating on reefer
The arguments that work are specific to the equipment: your unit’s temperature range and continuous logging capability, food-grade certification if you have it, and immediate availability, which matters more on temperature-controlled freight because the shipper’s alternatives are fewer.
Where Hey Bubba! fits
Hey Bubba! is an AI back-office automation platform for fleets. It screens loads against the cost per mile you set (reefer-specific if you configure it that way), counters against your floor rather than accepting posted rates, and captures detention terms at booking so the dwell exposure is priced rather than absorbed.
Frequently asked questions
Enough to cover reefer fuel, unit maintenance, higher insurance and greater dwell exposure. Calculate your reefer CPM specifically rather than applying a rule of thumb.
Yes. The unit burns fuel independently of the tractor, including while stationary. Omitting it understates your cost on every reefer load.
Grocery and produce facilities are among the slowest in freight. Price it into the rate as well as claiming detention.
Last updated:
Meet Bubba,
AI Back-Office
Automation for Fleets
Dispatch, paperwork & compliance - automated.
Just say Hey Bubba!