Freight factoring, explained
The cash-flow side of the fuel surcharge: same-day invoice payment, recourse vs non-recourse, and how to compare quotes
The Weekly Diesel Bulletin·No. 2·Week of ·Next release August 4, 2026
The surcharge line pays you back on the broker's schedule; the pump wants its $885 today. What factoring does, what it costs, and how to compare the companies that sell it.
- Freight factoring: sell the invoice at a discount, get paid the same or next business day, and let the factoring company collect from the broker on its own terms.
- At this week's DOE index ($5.313, week of ), a 1,000-mile load at 6 MPG burns about 167 gallons — roughly $885 of diesel paid at the pump before the invoice is even submitted.
- Recourse factoring: you buy the invoice back if the broker doesn't pay. Non-recourse: the factor absorbs qualifying non-payment — and typically charges more for it.
- No major trucking factoring company publishes its full rate card. Compare written quotes line by line — the checklist below is the line items.
The fuel surcharge puts diesel on the invoice; it does not put diesel in the tank. Fuel is paid at the pump today, and the invoice that reimburses it — line haul plus surcharge — pays on the broker's terms, commonly weeks later. Factoring is the tool owner-operators and small fleets use to close that gap, and it is the one financial product whose pricing moves with the same index this site tracks: the bigger the fuel line, the bigger the working-capital hole between delivery and payment.
How it works
You deliver the load, submit the invoice and paperwork to the factoring company, and receive an advance — the invoice amount minus the factoring fee, and sometimes minus a reserve released when the broker pays. The factoring company owns the receivable and collects it. Two structural choices define every agreement: recourse vs non-recourse (who eats a broker default) and contract vs spot (whether you must factor all your invoices or can pick per load).
What to compare — line by line
- The complete fee schedule, in writing: base rate, sliding-scale tiers, ACH/wire/same-day fees, invoice minimums, monthly minimums.
- Recourse terms — and, if non-recourse, the contract's exact definition of qualifying non-payment.
- Advance rate and reserve: what percentage arrives up front and when the remainder releases.
- Term and exit: contract length, auto-renewal, early-termination fee, and how the UCC filing is released when you leave.
- Extras that offset fees: fuel-card discounts, free load-board access, broker credit checks — real money if you would buy them anyway, noise if not.
Factoring companies with referral programs
| Company | What they publish |
|---|---|
| FactorLoads | Publishes a fuel-discount program at 12,000+ truck stops, a free load-board account, and free driver payment cards alongside factoring; does not publish its factoring rates. |
| Summar Financial | Advertises non-recourse freight factoring and a fuel card for carriers, owner-operators, and small fleets; does not publish its rates. |
| UC Factors | Factoring company operating since 1975; lists trucking and freight brokerage among its core industries; does not publish its rates. |
| Tetra Capital | Freight factoring focused on trucking companies; does not publish its rates. |
| Porter Freight Funding | Freight factoring for owner-operators and fleets; does not publish its rates. |
The order is not a ranking, and absence from this list means nothing — it is simply the set of programs this site has verified. Any factoring company you are considering should clear the same checklist above.
FAQ
What is freight factoring?
Freight factoring is selling an unpaid freight invoice to a factoring company at a discount in exchange for immediate payment — commonly the same or next business day — instead of waiting out the broker's or shipper's payment terms. The factoring company then collects the invoice from the broker itself.
What is the difference between recourse and non-recourse factoring?
With recourse factoring, you must buy the invoice back (or swap it) if the broker doesn't pay. With non-recourse factoring, the factoring company absorbs qualifying non-payment, and typically charges a higher fee for taking that risk. Read the contract's definition of what non-payment qualifies — it is narrower than the label suggests.
Does factoring cover the fuel surcharge?
Yes — the fuel surcharge is a line item on the freight invoice, so factoring advances it along with the line haul. That is the connection to this site: the surcharge is computed from the DOE weekly diesel index, but the cash arrives only when the invoice is paid.
What does freight factoring cost?
A percentage of the invoice, charged flat or on a sliding scale with volume and payment speed. Most trucking factoring companies — including every company listed on this page — do not publish their rate cards, so the only reliable number is a written quote. Get the complete fee schedule, not just the headline rate: ACH/wire fees, invoice minimums, monthly minimum volume, reserve terms, and early-termination fees are where quotes diverge.
Run the fuel math itself with the FSC calculator (this week's index pre-filled) or the printable matrix; how the peg works: the peg price, explained.