The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges fell for the first time after 12 weeks of increases.
Refrigerated truckload capacity has tightened rapidly out of northern California, signalling the return of a more volatile produce season.
First standardized, accessible bulk freight rate data delivers outbound state-based pricing and round trip rates to shippers, carriers, and logistics operators CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — April 8 2026 — SONAR today announced the launch of Bulk Rates within the SONAR API, delivering the first standardized contract rate benchmarks for bulk trucking — a segment of the […]
Three updates to SONAR’s load prioritization and coverage strategy tool give carrier sales teams deeper lane intelligence, more actionable guidance, and a live connection between internal freight systems and the market. CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — April 8, 2026— SONAR today announced a significant expansion of Coverage Guide, SONAR’s load prioritization and coverage strategy tool, with three […]
The benchmark price used for most fuel surcharges rose for the 12th straight week.
The Postal Regulatory Commission said the Postal Service can go forward with a temporary price increase designed to offset rising transportation costs.
The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges is now up 11 weeks in a row.
The price of fuel has spiked over the past month, but this does not always mean higher rates.
U.S. Postal Service is ready to charge parcel customers a fuel surcharge for the first time in its history because fuel prices are rising faster than it can change its base transportation rate.
New integration puts real-time market intelligence directly into the hands of reps processing freight RFPs, cutting response time from hours to minutes. In freight sales, five minutes can be the difference between winning a contract and losing it to a faster competitor. A new strategic partnership between Prodensus and SONAR is designed to close that […]
IAG Cargo has launched deliver-e, a cross-border parcel delivery platform that leverages airline networks to offer faster, more transparent international e-commerce shipping with three-to-six-day transit times across 250+ destinations.
The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges is up for the 10th straight week.
National truckload rejection rates are telling us that the market may take a while to recover.
Retail DEF prices have managed to stay steady since the start of the Iran war; will it continue?
The benchmark used for most fuel surcharges is above $5/g for the first time in more than 3 years.
Midwest rejections are outpacing the West Coast by a factor of 4. What could be driving this huge disparity?
FedEx is giving B2B shippers the option to use reusable boxes in distribution networks with predictable returns.
The price used to set diesel surcharges gained more in a week than it ever has in its 30+ year history.
Wholesale diesel prices jumped more than 30% last week, while retail diesel prices increased more than 14%. The rapid pace of these changes has potentially negative implications for both shippers and carriers.
SONAR, the leading provider of event-driven supply chain intelligence, announced new platform enhancements designed to help logistics professionals monitor and respond to potential disruptions stemming from the escalating conflict involving Iran. A new Geopolitical Alert has been added to the Executive Dashboard, giving users immediate context on global developments and curated links to resources that […]
Oil rose in early trading late Sunday, but diesel was outstripping gains in crude.
Two factors appear to be driving a divergence in regional truckload capacity in the middle of a structural market shift.
The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges has risen for the 7th consecutive week.
SONAR, the leading freight market intelligence platform, today announced a limited-time promotion offering its Blue to Blue iOS app free for 30 days to first-time users. The promotion runs through March 31, 2026, giving freight professionals full access to real-time lane-level intelligence directly from their mobile devices. Built for brokers, carriers, and shippers who need […]
Flatbed rejections have increased sharply in recent months and do not appear to be driven solely by tightening capacity or weather disruptions. The recent tariff ruling could serve as an accelerant to this trend.
The benchmark price used for most fuel surcharges rose for the fifth straight week.
Global ocean markets don’t move in isolation. Booking behavior in Asia today becomes capacity pressure in U.S. truckload networks weeks later. Port delays ripple into intermodal congestion. Commodity shifts reshape inland demand patterns. To help supply chain leaders stay ahead of those shifts, SONAR has officially replaced Container Atlas with two powerful, purpose-built dashboards: Ocean […]
Use SONAR’s Forward-Looking Market Intelligence (NOT just historical data) as preventative medicine for your market pain. Who SONAR Helps: Avoid getting caught flat-footed, most tools tell you what has already happened, SONAR provides context and leading indicators to help you act proactively. What competitors do: Competitor Type Limitation Rate platforms (DAT, Truckstop, Xeneta, etc.) Benchmarking […]
As tender rejection rates surge nationally to over 14%, compared to just 5.5% last year at this time, be sure you’re focusing o your “take” strategy rather than just your freight coverage strategy. Watch this brief webinar to learn how to use SONAR’s Quick Rates Chrome Extension and Rate Intelligence tools to inform your tender […]
The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges rose a small amount, the fourth straight increase.
Data point suggests the truckload market is both experiencing an fleeting anomaly and shifting to a different state.
Spot and contract rates climb amid tighter capacity and stricter regulatory pressures on carriers
The benchmark used for most fuel surcharges rose for the third straight week.
Winter storm Fern was the strongest weather event to hit the transportation market since 2021, and will have a long recovery period.
The National Weather Service is forecasting a “significant East Coast winter storm threat” for this weekend, with a coastal low forming Friday and rapidly intensifying into a bomb cyclone as it tracks up the Eastern Seaboard. If you’re running freight anywhere from the Carolinas to Boston over the next five days, you need to pay attention right now.
Nationwide tender rejections are at 11.5%.
After a fourth quarter of mostly declines, the benchmark diesel price is climbing fast.
Winter Storm Fern has battered the Southeast and Lower Midwest and is set to finish its sweep through the Northeast by the end of the day. According to ABC News, snowfall totals have topped 8” in Arkansas, 11” in Illinois and Ohio, 13” in Indiana, 8” in Kansas, 12” in Missouri, 7” in Oklahoma, 6” […]
The first wave of Winter Storm Fern has fallen over the Southeast and lower Midwest. As predicted, the dividing line between ice and snow remains Interstate 40. Major interstates are shut down across the country in various spots. Interstate 70 is closed in various spots throughout Missouri, fairly close to St. Louis, as a result […]
24 hours out from a major winter weather event becomes the perfect window for assessing the full impact of what’s to come. That’s when meteorologists get a clearer picture of what’s actually going to happen. For the most part, the areas affected haven’t changed, just the accumulation numbers get more confident and where cities are […]
With memories of 2021’s crippling winter storm that parked an estimated 300,000 trucks nationwide, logistics leaders are bracing as Winter Storm Fern prepares to bring snow and hazardous icy conditions to major freight hubs along the U.S. Southeast.
That is the reality facing shippers and carriers as a sprawling winter system stretches from the Lower Midwest into the Southeast. North of Interstate 40, conditions resemble a familiar winter pattern: snow, cold, and manageable delays. South of it, Arctic air at the surface collides with warmer air aloft, creating a corridor of freezing rain […]
The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges rose for the first time in eight weeks.
20% of America’s freight moves through the Metroplex.
A powerful winter storm is setting its sights on a wide swath of the Southeast and the lower Midwest this weekend, bringing a dangerous mix of snow, freezing rain, and ice that could significantly disrupt road travel and regional freight movement. Meteorologists say the setup is particularly concerning for southern states that are less equipped […]
Trucking operations in the Midwest will halt this weekend.
Highways, airports, and distribution centers to be most affected by icy weather.
The truckload spot market erupted this holiday season, putting many long-term rates into obsolescence.
The consecutive week streak of declines in the benchmark retail diesel price is now eight, but market conditions are suggesting it might be a challenge to reach nine. The Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration average weekly retail diesel price declined 1.8 cents/gallon in the price published Tuesday, effective Monday. The latest price is $3.459/g. It’s […]
Inventory levels dropped at their fastest clip in over ten years according to the LMI in December. This lean management strategy could be a boon for trucking.
A Unit-Economics Reality Check Looking at the shocking December 2025 metrics, we couldn’t help but wonder how brokers are surviving. While, by almost any surface-level metric, freight brokerage volumes look healthy. Loads are moving. Capacity is abundant. Rates have stabilized off the bottom. And yet, across the industry, broker layoffs continue, balance sheets remain under […]
The key diesel benchmark fell again, but broader markets barely reacted to the Venezuelan news.
Order lead times are difficult to interpret, but the coming year could end a six-year rise and further tighten the trucking market.
The latest benchmark diesel price closed out 2025 pretty much where it finished up 2024.
Another decline in the benchmark price of diesel has sent that number down by the biggest amount in a five-week period in two years..
Leaner inventories and tighter ordering cycles are necessary to keep costs under control. Companies may be leaning more on transportation services in 2026 and come to find the once abundant supply of capacity has dwindled.
The benchmark used for most fuel surcharges fell for the fourth consecutive week.
(The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates.) In a major legal battle at the U.S. Supreme Court, 29 states plus the District of Columbia have joined forces to support a truck accident victim. Their amicus or “friend of the court” […]
Carriers are rejecting loads at a pace not seen in years, with little to no post-Thanksgiving reprieve. Is this yet another sign that capacity is finally reaching a tipping point?
The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges has plummeted over the last two weeks.
Truckload spot rates have seen sharp, intermittent spikes this year, though none have lasted. These sharper swings may signal what’s coming next year.
The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges is down 11 cents/gallon in two weeks.
SONAR goes much deeper in volume data with a new tender source.
The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges declined after four weeks of increases.
Import demand continues to weaken, and while it is not a purely positive sign for transportation markets, it is not the most dire either.
TITAN Containers is making a bold play to redefine what sustainable cold storage looks like with the launch of ArcticStore Horizon, a portable cold room engineered to slash energy use and global warming potential at a scale the industry hasn’t seen before. Horizon delivers an average 55% reduction in energy consumption and uses a near-zero-GWP […]
The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges has risen for four straight weeks.
Truckload rates have increased on a main transcontinental artery, showing that the value of truckload service has grown even though there is less demand for it.
The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges is at its highest price since July 2024.
The SONAR platform offers numerous applications and abundant data to help brokers stay ahead in the increasingly volatile truckload market. Unique datasets—such as tender rejections and volumes—help users recognize when the market is shifting and understand the depth of its impact beyond transactional activity. SONAR also provides robust spot and contract rate data derived from […]
Executive Summary At the F3 event in Chattanooga, a series of new products and platform updates were showcased, all centered on making data more accessible, easier to use, and actionable for users. The updates spanned the entire Sonar platform, introducing new dashboards, powerful AI-driven insights, and key partnerships to create a more integrated user experience. […]
Major impacts to travel are happening across the midwest as an early season storm brings snow and ice to the regions.
Shippers are signaling a return to just-in-time shipping in reducing the inventory level buffers that they were building. This could pull some freight back into the truckload market.
The diesel price used for most fuel surcharges rose for a second consecutive week.
Truckload contract rates have been remarkably stable over the past few years, but they are about to be tested over the next 12 months.
The weekly diesel price used for most fuel surcharges rose the most it has increased since June.
Truckload demand has collapsed, largely due to the loss of transcontinental freight to intermodal, but tender rejection and spot rates remain on par to slightly higher than last year, an indication that capacity is under far more pressure than demand.
The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges dropped in excess of 4 cents/gallon for the third consecutive week, with the price at the pump catching up to significant declines in futures prices from several weeks ago. The Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration average weekly retail diesel price fell 4.5 cts/g to $4.62/g, effective […]
Over the past several years, the transportation industry has struggled to keep pace with soaring e-commerce demand. Against this backdrop, Amazon developed the Amazon Freight Partner program to create opportunities within its middle-mile logistics network for both leaders looking to start a transportation business and professional CDL-A drivers looking to expand their driving career.
Futures market in ULSD weakening on projections of significant oversupply.
Last week, SONAR released a new dashboard within the Container Atlas application, titled Maritime Trade Console. This is the latest of the dashboards added to SONAR and, like the others, is intended to enhance SONAR’s usability and is powered by Google Looker. It includes details on ocean data that haven’t been released elsewhere, as bookings […]
Reports of immigration services targeting truck drivers caused a sharp spike in spot rates this past week, but as of late week tender rejections remained steady. Weak demand may be hiding growing fragility in the market.
Final-mile courier Frontdoor Collective is testing a fleet of Chevy electric vans on delivery routes for Target.
The benchmark used for most fuel surcharges declined to its lowest level in about two months.
A new Google Chrome plug-in, SONAR Quick Rates, is now available in the Chrome Web Store, bringing the power of SONAR’s market intelligence directly into users’ browsers for faster quoting and decision-making. The extension is designed to create efficiency for brokers, shippers, carriers, and logistics professionals by allowing them to access critical data without leaving […]
Link Logistics boosts sustainability through energy efficiency gains and solar expansion across its nearly 500 million-square-foot last-mile portfolio.
Diesel price benchmark edges up, highlighting market stability amid oversupply and Chinese oil buying.
The truckload contract market has fallen into stagnation after what looked like a transition late last year. What are the takeaways heading into the late year bid season?
The price used for most fuel surcharges rose one cent in a market that has featured stability for weeks Stability in the retail price of diesel remains the prevailing condition in the market, with the benchmark price used for most fuel surcharges moving a mere one cent this week. The Department of Energy/Energy Information Administration […]
Truckload carriers are not only hauling less freight, but moving it less distance. This has a compounding effect on keeping capacity loose as longer moves take up more capacity. If supply chain strategies normalize, it could have an impact on transportation markets.
Last week, SONAR released enhancements to their map widget, this week, they made maps easier to access and use. Enhanced Map Widget SONAR redesigned the Map Widget to make it more powerful, intuitive, and user-friendly than ever. What’s New This week, SONAR added Maps to the main menu in the UI to make the overall […]
If you haven’t checked out SONAR lately, be sure you do! We’ve rolled out more features and product enhancements this year than in many of the past years combined—and the F3 Future of Freight Festival in Chattanooga this October is the best place to see them in action. Download the attached white paper here for a summary […]
Tariffs and a confounding trade policy have helped boost import demand in the first half, but that appears to be settling out to finish the year.
Thoughts from Motive’s CEO: Motive patent case victory over Samsara secures leadership in road safety tech.
The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges rose for the second straight week.
The benchmark price used as the basis for most fuel surcharges rose after five weeks of declines.
Chart of the Week: Outbound Tender Volume Index – USA SONAR: OTVI.USA The national Outbound Tender Volume Index (OTVI), which measures truckload demand, jumped 6.5% in the week and a half leading up to the Labor Day holiday weekend. While an increase is typical for this period, the scale of this rise is unusual. Let’s break down […]
The benchmark diesel price used for most fuel surcharges declined for the fifth straight week.
Are declining import bookings a response to erratic trade policy, or are there broader economic signals to be gleaned?
Global supply chain risk leader extends reach to over one million logistics professionals, delivering 15+ years of proven weather analytics through industry leading freight intelligence platform SAN MARCOS, Calif. and CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – August 19, 2025 – Everstream Analytics, the global leader in supply chain risk management and predictive insights, today announced a strategic partnership […]
