Layover is the next step up from detention. Detention covers hours lost at a stop; layover covers a whole day lost because an appointment slipped, a facility was closed, or product was not ready. It is typically a flat daily amount, often several hundred dollars, stated on the rate confirmation.
Layover and detention usually do not both apply to the same delay — the agreement defines the threshold at which accumulated waiting becomes a layover instead of hourly detention.
Because a layover ties up the truck for a day, the real cost to the carrier includes the revenue from the load that truck could otherwise have started. The flat layover fee rarely covers that fully, which is why dispatchers push hard to reschedule rather than accept a layover.
Example
A driver arrives for a Friday afternoon delivery appointment and is told the receiver is now closed until Monday. The rate confirmation specifies a $250 per day layover. The carrier bills two layover days for Saturday and Sunday, and the driver resumes Monday morning — but the truck has lost a weekend of potential dispatch.
Why it matters
A layover removes a truck from the board for a full day. The flat fee softens the blow but does not replace the trip that day would have carried, so preventing the layover is usually worth more than collecting it.