Which Accessorial Charges Nearly Every Carrier Tariff Names

Which accessorial charges does nearly every carrier tariff include?

Detention is the one charge found in all 19 issuers, and liftgate, reconsignment or diversion, hazardous materials, and reweigh, inspection or certified weight are each found in 18 of 19. We read 25 published accessorial and rules tariffs from 19 distinct US carriers and shippers on 15 October 2026. A charge in this group is written into nearly every issuer’s rules, so a shipper should expect to find it there. The detention count was checked by reading the items, while the others come from keyword counts.

Which accessorial charges are very common but not universal?

Redelivery, storage, extra labor, expedited or exclusive-use service, and after-hours service appear in 17 of the 19 issuers whose tariffs we read on 15 October 2026, and customs, COD, and pallet or packaging fees appear in 16. Sorting, over-length, appointment notification, excess value, corrected bills of lading, guaranteed service and limited access fall at 14 or 15. These are near-standard rather than universal, so each one is worth checking in the tariff a given carrier actually offers.

Which accessorial charges appear in more than half of tariffs?

Convention centre, California compliance, lumper, late payment, blind shipment, residential, inside delivery, truck ordered not used, and stop-off charges each appear in 11 to 13 of the 19 issuers whose tariffs we read on 15 October 2026. That is more than half the sample, so a shipper should check for each one by lane and freight type rather than assume it is absent. A lumper fee, for example, arises only where third-party labor loads or unloads the freight at the facility.

Which accessorial charges appear in only a few tariffs?

Protection from freezing or temperature control and advancing charges each appear in 10 of the 19 issuers whose tariffs we read on 15 October 2026, and cancellation fees and unattended delivery in 9. Single shipment charges and debris disposal appear in 7, special equipment in 4, and credit card payment fees, layover and dead head or repositioning in 3. Layover at 3 of 19 against detention at 19 means a tariff with a detention rule does not necessarily have a layover rule. A rare charge is still written into the tariffs that carry it, so check the ones your lanes and equipment would trigger.

How do you read a carrier’s tariff before signing?

Read the tariff in the order below, so each charge is matched to the lane it would apply to before the rate is agreed. The first three steps cover the charges nearly every tariff carries, and the later steps cover the less common ones that depend on the freight. On a brokered load the rate confirmation governs, so this list becomes the checklist for that document.

1. Find the accessorial or rules section and list every charge with its trigger and stated rate.
2. Confirm the liftgate, reconsignment, hazardous materials and reweigh rules, which appear in 18 of 19 tariffs.
3. Read the detention rule and the spotted-trailer rule, the two that appear in nearly every tariff.
4. Note the free time, any cap, and whether detention and layover can both apply at one stop.
5. Check who pays and what record the tariff accepts as proof, such as the carrier’s own records.
6. Match the less common charges, such as lumper, stop-off or special equipment, to the lanes you run.
7. Write the charges you expect into the rate confirmation, and leave out any the lane cannot trigger.

Does every tariff include a detention rule?

Yes, all 19 issuers in the 25 tariffs we read on 15 October 2026 have a detention rule, and we confirmed it by reading the items. A separate rule for a spotted trailer or detention without power appears in 17 of those 19, also verified by reading. Detention is therefore written into nearly every tariff, and because each issuer writes its own terms, the free time and proof requirements are worth reading in full before a lane is priced.

What do these frequency counts show, and where do they stop?

These counts come from keyword families matched against each document’s table of contents, so they are close to the true figures but not exact. Tariffs name the same charge in different words, and a title that matches no keyword family is missed. Only the detention and spotted-trailer counts were checked item by item. The counts show which charges a tariff names, not what they cost or how often a carrier bills them, and we did not tabulate prices. The table sets out the bands.