Tool
Drop hook vs live load calculator
Enter the details for two load offers — one drop-and-hook, one live — to see whether the live load pays enough to compensate for the time spent waiting at the dock.
Load details
Your operating cost
All-in CPM including fuel, insurance, truck payment, and other operating costs.
Used to value the dock wait time. Estimate: your CPM × average MPH (e.g., $1.90 × 15 mph ≈ $28.50/hr).
Drop-and-hook load
Live-load offer
Comparison
How to use this comparison
Drop-and-hook and live-load loads on the same lane are often quoted at different rates, but the difference in gross pay does not tell the full story. A live-load load that pays $150 more may still be worse if the expected wait time is 3 hours — because those hours cost money (your hourly truck cost) and reduce the number of loads you can complete that week. This calculator values your dock wait time at your hourly truck cost and subtracts it from the live-load margin to find the true net value of each option.
The "live load rate needed to match" result shows you exactly how much more a live-load offer would need to pay to equal the drop-and-hook load's effective value — useful when countering a broker who is offering a live-load rate that does not compensate for dock time.
Wait time and detention
If your expected wait time exceeds the free time in the rate confirmation, detention begins accruing at your detention rate. This calculator adds earned detention pay to the live-load gross and still values the wait time as an opportunity cost. Even with detention, a long wait may leave the live load worth less than the drop-and-hook alternative — especially when the time cost of waiting reduces your ability to take another load that day.