Check call
A check call is the status call a brokerage makes to the carrier or driver while a load is moving, usually at pickup, in transit, and at delivery.
Last updated 11 October 2026.
Your customer does not care that you have a map. They care that when they ask, you already know, and that you told them about the problem before they found it.
A ping says the tractor moved. It does not say the driver is out of hours, the dock is still loading, or the receiver turned the truck away. That is why the desk still calls.
Most brokerages call at pickup, once while the truck is rolling, and again before delivery. A short run with a live ping may not need the middle call. The last check before an appointment still should be a person, not a dot.
Ask the same things every time. Where are you. Are you loaded. When will you make the receiver. Do you have the hours. Anything I should know. Write the answer on the load when you hang up. A check call that stays in someone's head did not happen.
A routine answer is a time and an on-time. The answer that matters is a delay, a refusal, a breakdown, or a truck that is not where the appointment said it would be. That one comes back to a person, with the reason, while there is still time to tell the customer.
FreightScout places the pickup, transit, and delivery calls and writes that note on the load. The rep takes the exception. How FreightScout runs check calls.
Questions people actually ask
When is a ping not enough on a check call?
A fresh ping can stand in for a routine in-transit check when the truck is on pace. It cannot tell you the driver is loaded, out of hours, or refused. Those still take a call, and the last check before an appointment should be a call.
What do you write down after a check call?
The time, the place, and whether anything is wrong, on the load. FreightScout writes that note and brings a delay or a refusal back to a person.