Layover
Pay owed when a driver is held overnight or longer awaiting a load, beyond normal detention time.
Layover in Practice
Layover Pay Isn't Standardized
Rates vary widely by carrier and broker, often a flat amount per night rather than an hourly rate like detention. Always check the rate confirmation for a specific layover clause instead of assuming a default number applies.
Report the Delay Immediately
Calling or texting dispatch the moment it becomes clear a load won't move that day starts the paper trail needed later. Waiting until the next morning to mention an overnight hold makes the claim harder to document and easier to dispute.
It's Negotiated, Not Automatic
Unlike some accessorials, layover pay often has to be agreed to before it applies, not just claimed after the fact. Confirming the rate and trigger conditions with dispatch or the broker before accepting the load avoids disputes later.
Layover: What It Means and Why It Matters
Layover pay compensates a driver for being held longer than a normal load or unload, typically overnight or across multiple days, waiting for freight that isn't ready yet. It differs from detention in scale and cause: detention covers a few hours at one stop, while layover covers a driver and truck sitting idle overnight or longer, often because a shipper's freight isn't packed, a load gets rescheduled, or a multi-stop run leaves a gap between deliveries. Knowing when layover applies, and getting it written into the rate confirmation, protects an owner-operator's time on runs that don't go as planned.
How Layover Pay Works
Layover typically kicks in when a driver is held well beyond normal detention, usually overnight or into a second calendar day, waiting on a shipper or receiver that isn't ready. It's distinct from detention in both length and cause: detention is measured in hours at a single stop, while layover reflects a driver's entire day, or more, being consumed without a load moving.
Because there's no single federal standard for layover pay, the amount and the trigger point are set by whatever the carrier, broker, or rate confirmation specifies. Some carriers pay a flat rate per night, such as $100 to $150, while others tie it to a driver's average daily earnings so the driver isn't losing a full day's income to a shipper's scheduling problem.
A Practical Example
A driver arrives at a shipper on a Friday afternoon expecting to load and roll toward the next stop, but the freight isn't packed and won't be ready until Monday morning. Rather than deadheading home and returning, the driver stays local over the weekend, effectively losing two full working days.
If the carrier's layover rate is $150 per night, that's $300 for two nights, on top of whatever detention applies for the original wait. Without a layover clause on the rate confirmation, though, the driver may have no basis to claim anything beyond standard detention for the first few hours.
Why Layover Matters for Owner-Operators
An owner-operator's income depends entirely on the truck moving, so a day spent parked at a shipper waiting on freight is a day with no revenue and no chance to accept another load. Layover pay exists to offset that lost earning potential, which is why negotiating it into a rate confirmation before accepting a load, especially one with a history of delays, matters more than chasing it after the fact.
Common Layover Mistakes
The most common mistake is assuming layover pay works like detention, accruing automatically once a threshold passes. In practice it usually has to be negotiated up front, and a driver who doesn't confirm the rate before agreeing to sit overnight may end up with nothing beyond standard detention.
The second mistake is failing to document the actual delay: check-in times, communication with the shipper, and any messages to dispatch showing the driver was ready to load but couldn't. Without that record, a broker has little reason to approve a layover claim.
Related Calculators
Related Dispatch Operations Terms
Carriers on Layover
“A shipper held me two full nights waiting on freight that wasn't even packed yet. I got paid for both because the layover rate was already in the rate confirmation before I ever rolled in.”
“I learned the hard way to ask about layover pay before accepting a load with a shaky pickup history. Now I won't commit to a shipper known for delays without it in writing.”