In freight, the term names both the equipment and the service, drop trailer shipping. A trailer left this way is also called a spotted trailer.
How Does Drop Trailer Shipping Work?
- Arrange it. The shipper and the carrier agree on drop service ahead of time, including how long the trailer may stay before charges start.
- Drop the empty. A driver parks an empty trailer at the dock or in the yard and leaves with the tractor.
- Load and count. The shipper's own staff load, brace and count the freight, and may seal it. Because no driver watches, the bill of lading is marked shipper load and count.
- Release it. The shipper tells the carrier the trailer is loaded and ready.
- Hook and go. A driver hooks the loaded trailer and hauls it away, and may drop the next empty on the same visit.
The receiving end works the same way in reverse: the carrier drops a loaded trailer, the receiver unloads it when it has dock time, and the carrier collects the empty.
Drop Trailer vs. Live Load vs. Drop and Hook
Fig. 1 · Comparison
| Item | Driver at the dock | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Live load or unload | Stays for the whole load or unload | The wait usually counts as on-duty time; detention after free time |
| Drop trailer | Only to drop the trailer and later collect it | Carrier tariffs can make the facility answer for the trailer and freight while it holds them |
| Drop and hook | Only to swap one trailer for another | A trailer must be ready to hook when the driver arrives |
Many facilities book live loads as appointments through dock scheduling. With drop and hook, the trailer the driver hooks is already loaded or empty, so the driver does not wait while a load is built.
A drop trailer program is a standing version of the same arrangement, with the carrier's trailers kept at the facility for regular loads. Moving them between parking spots and dock doors is the work of yard jockey operations.
Why Driver Waiting Time Matters
A US truck driver generally has 14 hours after coming on duty to fit in at most 11 hours of driving, and time at the dock during a live load counts against the 14. A long wait can end the driver's day before the driving is done.
There is no standard definition of detention, FMCSA says, but the industry, the federal government and researchers have used a stay of more than 2 hours at a facility to mark where it begins. Carriers can bill a detention fee once free time runs out.
A drop trailer separates the loading time from the driver's time: no driver is on site while the freight is loaded or unloaded.
Costs and Responsibilities
Drop service shifts work and risk to the facility, and carriers write that into their tariffs. FedEx Freight's rules tariff, effective Jan. 5, 2026, is one example:
- Once the shipper receives the trailer, "the trailer and its contents become the responsibility of Shipper," including damage to or loss of the carrier's equipment, other than normal wear and tear or an act of God.
- For a trailer left without power on a US shipment, free time is 24 hours, excluding non-business days. After that, detention is $273.00 per pup (a trailer of up to 29 feet) or vehicle for each 24-hour period or fraction thereof, excluding non-business days, until the customer tells the carrier the equipment is available.
- The consignor or consignee does all loading or unloading, "including the counting and checking of freight," and for loading the bill of lading must show "shipper load and count."
- The carrier's responsibility for safeguarding the freight begins when it takes possession of the loaded trailer and, at the receiving end, ends when it spots the trailer for unloading.
A drop trailer fits a facility that ships or receives trailer loads on a regular pattern and has the yard space and staff to load without a driver there. It can be used for truckload shipping or, with some carriers, for less-than-truckload freight. If volume is low or irregular, or trailers would sit past their free time, a live load can cost less.