Lumper fee
What is a lumper fee?
A lumper fee is a charge for loading or unloading a truck by a third party: a warehouse crew or a specialized lumping company that does the physical work at the dock instead of the carrier's driver or the shipper's own staff. The fee is usually paid at the dock, often by the driver on the carrier's card, and billed back afterward to whoever the contract makes responsible.
Who pays it in practice
- The carrier or driver pays at the dock and passes the receipt up for reimbursement, when the carrier's contract puts the work on them.
- The shipper or receiver pays directly, when the lumpers work its own dock.
- The broker arranges and advances it, then charges the shipper as an accessorial line on the settlement.
What the paperwork needs
An itemized receipt with the facility name, the date, the amount and who paid, attached to the load while the memory is fresh. Lumping disputes are ordinary and small, and they are decided by who has the receipt: without one, the charge becomes a negotiation rather than a line item.