Truck Order Not Used (TONU)

Truck Order Not Used – commonly abbreviated TONU – is a fee carriers charge when they dispatch a truck to a pickup location and the load isn't available. The shipment may have been canceled after tendering, rescheduled without notifying the carrier, not staged in time, or assigned to a different carrier by mistake. TONU fees typically range from $150 to $500 and represent the carrier's direct cost for a deadhead trip plus the opportunity cost of the load the truck could have hauled instead.

TONU is a sore point in shipper-carrier relationships. From the carrier's perspective, they committed a truck, blocked out driver hours, and potentially turned down other freight – only to arrive at an empty dock or receive a last-minute cancellation. From the shipper's perspective, TONUs sometimes result from circumstances beyond their control: a customer cancels an order, a warehouse delays production, or an upstream supply chain disruption ripples downstream. Regardless of the cause, the carrier expects to be compensated.

Frequent TONUs damage a shipper's reputation in the carrier community. Carriers share information, and facilities known for cancellations and no-shows face higher spot rates, lower tender acceptance, and reduced willingness from quality carriers to participate in RFPs. The financial impact extends beyond the TONU fee itself – the shipper often needs to rebook the load at a higher rate, and the customer experience suffers from the delay.

Minimizing TONU exposure requires tighter coordination between sales, operations, and logistics. Confirming load readiness before tendering, building buffer time into pickup schedules, and maintaining clear cancellation communication protocols with carriers all reduce TONU frequency. Tracking TONU rate by facility and root cause helps identify where the process is breaking down.