Hot shot contracts: getting steady work

Spot loads keep a hotshot busy. Contracts keep it steady. A few recurring customers can carry a business through slow board weeks, cut empty miles and reduce the hours spent searching. Getting them takes time and a reputation, and signing them takes care.

Types of hotshot contract work

How to get them

1. Prove it on spot loads. On time, clean paperwork, good communication.
2. Ask. After a good run: "Do you have regular freight on this lane?"
3. Approach shippers directly. Equipment dealers, rental yards, supply houses, fabrication shops, oilfield service companies and manufacturers near you.
4. Bring a short packet: authority, insurance certificate, equipment list with ratings and deck, service area and references.
5. Start small. A weekly run can grow into more.

Broker relationships are covered in hotshot brokers, and the freight itself in hot shot loads.

Examples with weights

A steel supplier might need 8,000 to 12,000 lb delivered to three fabricators twice a week. An equipment dealer might move compact machines of 6,000 to 10,000 lb to customers on call. An oilfield service company might need tools and parts of 1,000 to 5,000 lb run to well sites several times a week. Match each to your rig: a non-CDL hotshot can serve the light work, while heavier contracts need a CDL rig with a 40 ft deck.

What to put in writing

• Rates: per run, per mile or per hour, and how fuel changes them.
• Lanes and volume: expected runs, and what happens if they don't come.
• Accessorials: detention after a set free time, layover, extra stops, tarping.
• Payment terms: how many days, and how you invoice.
• Insurance and cargo liability: limits required and who bears what.
• Cancellation: notice either side must give.
• Scheduling: lead time, after-hours runs, holidays.

Make sure your insurance fits the freight; see hot shot insurance.

Pricing a contract

Price from your own cost per mile, including the empty return if there's no backhaul. A dedicated lane that sends you home empty every time has to pay for both directions. Add your margin and a fuel adjustment so the rate doesn't erode when diesel climbs. The hotshot rate calculator gives a target per run. Don't discount too far for volume: a steady loss is still a loss.

Pitching a shipper directly

Keep the first contact short and specific. Say what you run (a one-ton dually with a 40 ft gooseneck and ramps, CDL, 15,000 lb capacity), where you're based and how fast you can respond, and offer to take a trial load. Bring proof: your authority, insurance certificate and a reference from a broker or customer. Ask who handles their shipping, how they move it today and what goes wrong with it. The best contracts often start by fixing a shipper's recurring problem, like a carrier who doesn't show up on time.

Contract vs spot: an EXAMPLE month

Say a dedicated run pays $650 three times a week, with a backhaul you find yourself. That's about $7,800 a month of base revenue you don't have to search for. If spot loads that month would have averaged a little more per mile but with two empty days a week, the contract can come out ahead on profit even at a lower rate. Run both scenarios with your own numbers before deciding.

Risks to manage

• Volume drops. A project ends or a customer changes suppliers.
• One-customer dependence. If one shipper is most of your revenue, their slow month is yours.
• Payment delays. Direct shippers may pay slower than brokers.
• Scope creep. Extra stops, waiting and loading help that weren't priced.

Keep a mix: contract work for the base, spot loads to fill the rest. More about the business as a whole is in our hotshot guide.

Keeping a contract

Shippers renew carriers who make their lives easier. Send arrival times before they ask, photos at pickup and delivery, and paperwork the same day. Tell them early about problems. Ask once a quarter how things are going and whether volume is changing.

Dispatch around contract work

With hotshot dispatch, we work around your regular customers, filling open days and backhauls with loads that fit your rig. You approve every load, and the broker sends the rate confirmation straight to you.