Reefer Dispatch Service for Owner-Operators

The problem with reefer dispatch

You run temp-controlled freight — produce, frozen goods, pharma — and you know the drill. Your reefer unit is running, your pre-cool is set, and you're watching a load board that's full of brokers lowballing your lane because they know you're committed to that produce shipper by Thursday.

Reefer runs have real stakes. A missed pickup means a shipper loses product. A broker who doesn't understand temp requirements sends you the wrong RFP. And the produce lanes that pay well — Southeast in summer, California year-round — are picked clean by carriers who have a dispatcher on the phone with brokers before you even see the load posted publicly.

Most carriers running reefer tell us the same thing: they spend two hours every morning on the phone chasing loads when they should be pre-cooling and planning their route. That's two hours of unpaid work before the wheels turn.

How that temp-controlled booking pain gets worse

The produce market is seasonal, and the swings are real. When Atlanta peaches are moving in July or California strawberries hit volume in spring, reefer rates spike and every broker wants your capacity. The problem is most of those loads go to carriers whose dispatchers already have the broker relationship — and your name isn't on their call list.

Deadhead miles kill reefer profitability faster than any other equipment type. A dry-van driver can take almost any backhaul. You need a backhaul with a working reefer requirement, the right temp spec, and a pickup that doesn't blow your HOS. Finding that load without a dispatcher who knows the produce lanes is how you end up empty or taking a $2.00 rate just to move.

Reefer unit maintenance adds pressure that flat-bed and dry-van drivers don't face. You're watching fuel for the reefer unit, monitoring temps on every stop, and managing pre-cool windows on top of your drive time. Chasing loads on top of that isn't sustainable.

How FOMO books reefer loads

We work your authority as your agent. When you're empty or approaching your next available, we're already on the phone and in the load boards finding your next load — not waiting for you to call us.

We know the brokers who specialize in produce and frozen freight. We know which ones pay promptly, which ones have their own temp-monitoring requirements, and which ones you can negotiate with and which ones have a take-it-or-leave-it mentality. That knowledge takes years to build. You get it on day one.

Every load we send you includes the rate, the lane, the temp requirement, the pickup window, and our honest read on the broker. You approve it or you don't. We don't confirm anything without your green light. No forced dispatch, ever.

We send the full broker rate confirmation unaltered directly to you. What the broker pays is what you see — no editing, no skimming a spread, no surprises on settlement day.

The 5% flat cut — what it means for reefer

FOMO's dispatch fee is 5% of your linehaul, per booked load. That's it. We don't take a cut of fuel surcharge, detention, reefer unit fuel reimbursements, layover, TONU, lumper reimbursements, or any other accessorial. Every dollar of accessorial you negotiate stays with you.

Reefer freight often carries fuel surcharges that are larger than dry-van equivalents because shippers understand you're burning extra fuel to maintain temp. We don't touch any of that. Our 5% is on the linehaul rate only.

There are no setup fees, no monthly fees, and no weekly minimums. If we don't book a load for you, you don't pay. The 5% only applies to loads we actually book in your authority — zero charges for weeks you're on home time or running your own freight.

We invoice you separately for our 5% — typically weekly. Brokers pay you directly through your factor or your own bank. We never ask for your factoring login, banking credentials, or access to your settlements.

New authority? We take reefer carriers from day one.

Most brokers want 90 days of active MC history before they'll load a new carrier. We know which brokers take fresh authorities and we vouch for you with them. No surcharge for new authority carriers, no extra fee, same 5% flat rate.

Getting a new reefer authority running is harder than dry van — the equipment cost is higher, the compliance requirements are stricter, and you need tighter relationships to land consistent produce loads. We've done this for carriers starting from zero. If you're willing to run the loads, we'll find them.

What you get from FOMO Dispatch

A named primary dispatcher who knows your truck, your home base, and your preferred lanes. Not a rotation of reps, not a call center — a real person whose job it is to keep your reefer unit loaded.

After-hours coverage. Friday at 3 PM when a broker calls about a Monday produce run, somebody on our desk picks up. Reefer freight doesn't respect business hours and neither do we.

Factoring setup if you need it. We work with TBS, Apex, OTR, RTS, and most major factors. If you're not set up yet, we'll connect you with a same-day option — no referral kickbacks, we don't make money steering you to a factor.

Full transparency on every rate confirmation. You see the unaltered document. If a broker tries to change terms after booking, we push back. That's our job, not yours.