Hotshot delivery: what it is and how it runs

A hotshot delivery is the most direct form of trucking there is. One customer, one load, one truck, no stops in between. Shippers pay for that certainty, and carriers who deliver it reliably end up with repeat work that never hits a load board.

Local, regional and long-distance runs

Local work keeps you home more and gives you short, quick runs, but each pays less and you'll do more of them. Long runs pay more per load but take days and often end far from home with no reload. Many carriers mix both: local runs for regular customers during the week, and a longer run when it sets up a good load back toward home. The mix that works depends on how much freight moves in your area and how often you want to be home.

Who uses hot shot delivery services

• Oilfield and energy: parts and tools to remote sites, often at night.
• Manufacturing: a part that's stopping a production line.
• Construction: equipment, materials and repairs to job sites.
• Agriculture: parts during planting and harvest, when a down machine costs a day's work.
• Equipment dealers and rental yards: deliveries and pickups.
• Repair shops: components to and from customers.

More on the freight itself in hot shot freight.

How a hotshot delivery runs

1. The call. Load details, pickup time, delivery deadline and contacts.
2. Confirm the details. Weight, dimensions, loading equipment at both ends, securement needed.
3. Agree the rate in writing. The rate confirmation should list the rate, times, stops and any detention or after-hours terms.
4. Pick up and secure. Photos of the load secured, bill of lading signed.
5. Drive direct. Check calls at agreed times.
6. Deliver. Signed proof of delivery and photos, sent the same day.
7. Invoice. Rate con, bill of lading and proof of delivery to the broker or your factoring company.

Pricing a hotshot delivery

Most deliveries are priced as a flat rate. Start with your cost per mile times all the miles, including the drive to pickup and back if there's no reload. Then add for urgency, after-hours work, waiting time and special equipment. The hotshot rate calculator gives a break-even and target in seconds.

DELIVERY, EXAMPLENO. 0090

EXAMPLE

To pickup, empty

40 mi

Loaded run

210 mi

Back toward home, empty

170 mi

At $1.30/mi cost

$546

+ 30% margin, same-day

$710

Quote at least$710

Setting up for delivery work

• A reliable truck. Missing a delivery because of a breakdown loses the customer.
• The right gear: chains, straps, edge protection, tarps, ramps if you move equipment.
• Insurance that fits the freight. Cargo limits for the value of what you haul. See hot shot insurance.
• A phone that's always on. Urgent customers call at odd hours.
• Clean paperwork. Photos, signed bills of lading and same-day proof of delivery.

After-hours and weekend runs

Much hotshot delivery happens outside business hours: a well site that needs a part at 2 a.m., a plant that can't wait until Monday. These runs pay more, and they're where a carrier earns a reputation. Agree before you go on who will be at the delivery point, how you'll get in, and who signs. Get a phone number for someone who will actually answer. Price the inconvenience: a night run that wrecks the next day's schedule should cover the lost day.

Hours of service on urgent runs

Urgency doesn't change the rules. Hours of service apply to every run, and a delivery promised for 6 a.m. after a long day may not be legal to drive. Check your available hours before you accept, and tell the customer honestly when you can arrive. A missed promise costs more than a later, honest arrival time. See hotshot ELD and hours of service rules.

Building repeat customers

Shippers who need hotshot deliveries often call the same carrier again and again once they trust them. After a good run, leave a card, ask who else in the company ships, and follow up. A few regular customers smooth out slow weeks on the load boards, and they usually pay faster and argue less about rates than a new broker does. When a customer offers steady work, put the terms in writing; see hot shot contracts.

Becoming a hot shot delivery driver

You can run deliveries as an owner-operator with your own authority, leased on to a carrier, or as a company driver for a hotshot outfit. Owner-operators keep the most but carry all the costs and risks. See our hotshot guide for the broader picture.

Dispatch for delivery work

With hotshot dispatch, we fill the gaps between your regular customers, find reloads near each delivery and negotiate every rate. You approve every load, and the broker sends the rate confirmation straight to you.