TONU
TONU (truck ordered not used) explained
TONU, truck ordered not used, is the charge raised when a carrier positions a truck for a load that the shipper then does not use: the appointment is canceled too late, the order is pulled, or the dock says no after the driver has arrived or been dispatched. It pays for the equipment and driver time committed to a load that never moved.
When it applies
- Cancellation after the carrier has been dispatched, inside the notice window the rate confirmation sets.
- Driver arrives within the appointment window and the facility refuses the load for reasons on the shipper's side.
- The load exists at booking and is withdrawn before pickup without the agreed notice.
What keeps it out of disputes
A notice window written into the rate confirmation (how many hours before pickup a cancellation stays free), a clock that both sides can see (dispatch time, arrival time, the facility's own system), and a single amount agreed at booking rather than invented at invoice. For shippers, the protection is the opposite: cancellations inside the window stay off the invoice, and the window is read the same way by everyone.
TONU is where appointment discipline pays for itself: the difference between a fee and no fee is usually the notice window.