What happens if I deliver my freight late?

You lose your job. You get a do not rehire on your DAC. You get laughed at and made fun of and worse of all you get eaten by the bear.

If you believe any of the above I really pity you.

In most situations you should notify you company so another appt can be got. <<<<< The operating word there is NOTIFY.

 

You forgot the drone strike while he's getting fuel, causing the truck stop to explode. I heard that's what happened in Indianapolis....

 

On a more serious note (sorry for the humor I just could not resist).
It depends on the shipper/receiver their policies and the relationship they have with the company. I have made hundreds of deliveries to places where that delivery appointment was just a formality and there operations were such you could deliver early or late. However Just as soon as you know you won't make that appointment you MUST let your carrier know. A few months before I retired I was dispatched on a General Mills load from Joplin to the Walmart DC just east of Reno. It was a tight schedule as it was. I lost almost 8 hours with a mechanical issue but was told to go ahead and see if I could make it. I stopped in a truck stop in Eastern Nevada knowing full well I would not make that appointment. I notified my FM on the QUAILCOMM of this fact and another appointment was made. Just notify your company is all I can say and please don't make this a habit.

 

With many shoppers and receivers today, many rates are subject to reduction or penalties imposed [on carrier] on missed appointments. Especially in the food/grocery world.

Point is, sometimes yes, sometimes no. Personally, for me, it's as much a matter of personal pride as it is a matter of protecting the carrier's reputation and checking account. I do exclusive perishable grocery hauling and virtually every pickup and drop is by appointment.

 

Deliver late at Walmart and report back your experience.

 

There are times the revenue is docked for late deliveries (if you believe everything a Broker says, it's every time)...and there's times that it's not docked.
As mentioned "communication" is key.
If it happens too often, I GAURANTEE you'll lose your job. Bad weather, break downs, etc...all unavoidable and received with less hassle. Over sleeping, trashing around truck stops, and other forms of irresponsibility are easily caught and won't be tolerated too long.

 

I actually was shown a copy of a statement that came with a check from either a broker or shipper by the at the time president of WSE because I scoffed at him about this. A WSE driver missed an appointment and got WSE docked $250 bucks for the being late.

 

So much depends on who you drive for and where you are delivering at. Generally speaking once you cross the zip code boundary of the location you are going to your pay stops anyway.