Brokers track on-time scores. They share them with shippers. And once your on-time percentage drops below 95%, the highest-paying lanes start going to someone else.
The Hidden Penalty
Most carriers focus on the immediate cost of a service failure — a chargeback, a $250 fine, a strongly worded email. The real cost is the next month's rates. Major brokers (CHR, TQL, Coyote, RXO) all maintain internal scorecards. When your on-time drops, three things happen:
- You get fewer tendered loads.
- The loads you do get are at the bottom of the rate tier.
- Your name moves down the contracted-lane priority list.
The Numbers
We pulled six months of data across 38 active carriers using our Updater service. The pattern was consistent: carriers that maintained >97% on-time held an average $0.31 higher RPM than those at 92–95%.
How Live Updates Prevent It
Most "service failures" aren't actually late trucks. They're communication failures. The driver was 40 minutes out, traffic stopped, the broker called and got voicemail, the consignee called the broker, and the load gets coded as a service failure even though delivery happened on time.
"Half the 'failures' on my old scorecard weren't even late. Nobody was answering the phone. Now FM Group answers, and my score shot up to 99%." — Devin P., CEO Pike Logistics
What We Do
- Pickup and delivery check-calls within the broker's required window.
- Macropoint and Trucker Tools tracking enabled and monitored.
- Proactive ETA updates if traffic, weather, or detention threaten the appointment.
- Direct communication with shipper / consignee in English and Spanish.
You drive. We talk to the broker. Your scorecard stays clean.
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