TONU stands for truck ordered not used. In trucking, it is the term commonly used for a cancellation charge when a carrier has committed or dispatched a truck to a load and the truck is no longer needed under circumstances covered by the agreement.

Capacity was committed. The carrier may have repositioned, turned down other freight, assigned a driver, or consumed time. Then the planned load disappeared.

When does a TONU apply?

There is no universal federal TONU amount or one trigger that governs every load. The rate confirmation and broker-carrier or shipper agreement should define when the charge applies and what it pays.

A common TONU situation is a confirmed load canceled after the carrier has already dispatched the truck toward pickup. Another is a truck arriving at the facility and learning that the freight will not move. Whether the carrier is actually owed a TONU depends on the agreed terms and facts of the cancellation.

TONU vs detention

Detention usually involves a truck waiting on freight that is still expected to move. TONU involves capacity no longer being used for the planned load. One is primarily a waiting-time issue; the other is primarily a canceled-capacity issue.

TONU vs layover

Layover usually means the truck remains committed through a larger delay, often into another operating period or day. TONU generally means the original load is canceled or the ordered truck will not be used. The written terms control.

What should a carrier document?

  • The rate confirmation and cancellation terms
  • When the load was confirmed
  • When the driver or truck was assigned
  • When the truck was dispatched or began moving toward pickup
  • Miles already repositioned when relevant to the agreement
  • When and by whom the cancellation was communicated
  • Messages showing that the carrier was ready and able to perform the load

This is one reason rate confirmations matter. The argument gets much harder when everybody waits until after the cancellation to decide what dispatched meant or what the unused capacity was worth.

TONU is an accessorial, not a replacement load

Even when a TONU is paid, the truck may now be empty in the wrong place at the wrong time. A cancellation fee can offset some loss without restoring the freight opportunity that disappeared. Use the Deadhead Cost Calculator when the cancellation creates an empty reposition.

TONU sits alongside detention, layover, lumper fees, and other extras in the accessorial charges guide. If the load came through a broker, the freight broker guide explains where that intermediary sits between shipper and carrier.