Due to the damaging impact caused by Hurricane Ida, several Gulf Coast states have waived its HOA requirements and are seeking emergency relief. Although natural disasters present opportunities for transportation firms helping to assist devastated areas with their relief and recovery efforts, they are also present some challenges and concerns.

If you are considering transporting loads directly or indirectly with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), it is important to be mindful of these type of loads.

What You Should Know about Moving FEMA Loads

Know your customer. Many FEMA loads are posted by large freight brokers with names that should be familiar to you. If you haven't worked with them before, make sure you check their credit. Only work with reputable brokers.

Know what you should charge. You can make some money hauling FEMA loads by changing your pricing to adjust for the situation. Note that we are not advocating that you take advantage of others impacted by natural disasters. However, you should adjust your freight charges accordingly. When you're handling freight for emergency relief, you could be held over for long layovers and detention times, and you will probably leave with an empty trailer. These items should factor int your charges.

Make sure layover and detention pay is included in the rate agreement. Your customer should clearly stipulate the layover and detention pay in the rate agreement. Also make sure you clearly understand how layover and detention pay will be calculated. Remember you'll see very attractive FEMA loads posted on load boards, which looks enticing. However, it could take days to get offloaded, so you'll want to make sure you are properly compensated for any delays and long layovers.

FEMA loads do not pay quick. Government agencies are not exactly known for fast payment. Going indirectly through a reputable broker for your FEMA loads often ensures timely load payment.

Safety first. Make sure you are safe and do not put yourself in dangerous situations. Remember you can't help others if others are helping you. Safety should be your #1 priority.

HOS rules are suspended for some FEMA loads, but it's not a sure thing. Verify all the rules before you take the load.

FEMA Loads Policy

If you are looking to factor your FEMA loads with Match Factors, please be aware of our FEMA funding policy.

They include:

Line Haul Portion - We will only fund on approved, reputable brokers only (i.e. those brokers approved for credit).

Detention Time and Layovers - We will fund detention time and layover pay on a case-by-case basis.*

*All detention and layover rates must clearly be listed in the broker's rate confirmation. Match Factors reserves the right to NOT fund brokers with questionable credit or with an undocumented detention time policy. Detention and layover charges will be verified directly with the broker.

In cases where we are unwilling to fund the detention or layover time on FEMA loads, Match Factors will treat an received detention or layover time money as non-factored proceeds and we will redistribtute the money back to you.

For additional questions relating to our FEMA Loads Policy, please contact us.