One unit, one machine, one pallet, and it has to go now.
Hotshot is what you buy when the freight is small, the deadline is real, and waiting for a full truckload would cost more than the premium. It is a dedicated truck carrying your load and nothing else, dispatched immediately and driven straight through.
Illustrative photography — not Prime Trans equipment.What is hotshot trucking?
Hotshot trucking moves small, urgent loads on a dedicated truck rather than consolidating them with other freight. The load goes direct from pickup to delivery with no terminal stops, which is why it is faster and more expensive per pound than LTL or truckload.
Downtime costs more than freight.
- A line is downA plant waiting on one part is losing more per hour than the whole move costs. This is the classic hotshot and it is worth every dollar.
- A jobsite is stoppedA replacement component for a machine that is holding up a crew.
- One vehicle, hard deadlineA sold unit that has to be on the customer's driveway, or a demo that has to be at an event.
- A missed appointmentFreight that fell off another carrier's truck and now has to be recovered.
We would rather tell you now.
- The deadline is soft. If tomorrow afternoon works as well as tonight, a scheduled lane costs a fraction of a hotshot.
- The freight is big. Past a few pallets or one vehicle, a regular truckload is cheaper and no slower.
- It is a regular need. If you are buying hotshots weekly, you actually need a dedicated lane. It will cost less and it will be more reliable.
- It is across the country. Beyond a single driver's clock, expedited team service is the honest answer, not a hotshot.
Dispatched, not scheduled.
| Equipment | Three-car wedge for vehicles; open deck for machinery and palletised freight; a van when the load has to stay dry |
|---|---|
| Dispatch | Immediate during dispatch hours. We tell you the truthful ETA including the driver's remaining hours, not a number that sounds good on the phone |
| Rate basis | Flat rate for the trip, quoted before the truck rolls. Deadhead to the pickup is in the number rather than added later |
| Tracking | [ELD provider] ELD plus direct contact with the driver on urgent moves |
| Insurance | Auto liability $1,000,000 · Cargo $1,000,000 · General liability $1,000,000 |
Honest scope: we run 6 trucks. If they are all loaded when you call, we will say so in the first sentence rather than string you along and then fail you at four o'clock. A hotshot that does not exist is worse than no hotshot at all, because you stopped looking.
Straight answers
How fast can a hotshot pick up?
Inside the Upstate, usually within the hour during dispatch hours. Further out, it is drive time plus whatever the driver's remaining hours allow. We will give you the honest number, including the part where the clock says no.
What does a hotshot cost?
A flat rate for the trip that covers the empty miles to reach you as well as the loaded miles. It is more per mile than scheduled capacity because the truck carries nothing else and goes nowhere else.
Is a hotshot the same as expedited?
Related but not identical. A hotshot is a small dedicated load on a smaller truck. Expedited usually means a full truck, sometimes with team drivers, running long distance against a hard delivery time.
Can you hotshot a single car?
Yes — that is exactly what the three-car wedge is for. One unit, direct, no waiting for eight more to fill a stinger.
Where to go next
Expedited freight
Expedited truckload capacity on the Carolinas to Texas and Carolinas to Upper Midwest lanes, including team service where it genuinely buys a day and a straight answer where it does not.
Read onAuto transport
Open car hauling across the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee with photo-documented eBOLs, winch capability and same-day dispatch.
Read onLTL & partial loads
Partial truckload capacity on the Carolinas to Texas and Upper Midwest lanes for freight that is too big for LTL and too small for a full truck, with a plain explanation of which one you actually want.
Read onDedicated lanes
Put Prime Trans on a lane: committed trucks, backup capacity, a 12-month rate with a fuel-surcharge table, and quarterly reviews.
Read onA unit on the lot costs you every day it sits there.
Tell us the origin, destination, units per week and first pickup date. A written quote comes back the same business day.