Accessorial charges are additional freight fees for services or conditions that go beyond standard transportation from pickup to delivery. In logistics, accessorials may include liftgate service, inside delivery, residential delivery, detention, storage, reweighing, redelivery, limited-access delivery, fuel surcharges, appointment scheduling, or special handling. These charges help carriers recover extra labour, equipment, time, risk, or administrative costs. Shippers should review accessorials carefully because they can significantly change the final invoice from the original freight quote.
Common Examples
- Liftgate service
- Inside delivery
- Residential delivery
- Fuel surcharge
- Detention and layover
- Redelivery
- Oversize or overweight surcharge
Providing accurate cargo details upfront helps avoid unexpected accessorial charges on the final invoice. A missed pick-up or delivery, often called a dry run, may also be billed as an accessorial charge when the truck was dispatched but the freight was not ready. Extra pick-ups or deliveries on a route are billed as a stop-off fee, because the carrier spends more time, mileage, and fuel on the multi-stop move.
Related terms: Liftgate Fee, Residential Delivery Fee.
