Inside SONAR

Tender acceptance rates have long signaled stress in the truckload market — but until now, users had no direct index tracking the volume of freight that actually cleared that process and moved. SONAR’s new Accepted SONAR Truckload Volume Index (ASTVI) fills that gap. The dataset family isolates accepted truckload demand by stripping out rejection activity, […]

New FMCSA and CSA intelligence tool goes live as North American enforcement enters its most intense 72 hours of the year — and as the CDL crackdown reshapes the driver pool in real time CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — May 12, 2026 — SONAR today announced the launch of its new Carrier Safety Dashboard, a comprehensive intelligence […]

Real-time spot rates, a built-in margin calculator, and a Chrome Extension — available to any individual user for $24.99/month, no demo required. SONAR has launched a self-serve pricing tier that gives individual users direct access to its desktop rate intelligence tools — no sales call, no demo, and no contract required. The new offering, called […]

TruckSmarter is taking the freight industry into the future with the launch of Dispatch, combining AI capabilities into the industry’s first chat-based interface built specifically for freight. Now, truck drivers can eliminate hours scrolling through traditional load boards. Instead, drivers can ask anything to find loads, deploy agents to execute actions, such as a bidding […]

Expert-Authored Situation Reports Integrated Directly Into the Freight Intelligence Platform SONAR Research team delivers deep market analysis on macro forces reshaping freight and supply chain — with live data built in SONAR, the leading real-time freight market intelligence platform, today announced the launch of SONAR Sitreps — a new research product that delivers deep, expert-authored […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

A completely redesigned experience for SONAR’s Supply Chain Intelligence (SCI) has been launched allowing SCI to deliver faster insights, deeper market intelligence, and more actionable guidance for shippers managing their RFPs. The updated platform merges the previous Opportunity View and List View into a single, powerful page called Lane View. This consolidation allows users to […]

Building upon SONAR intermodal and dry van contract rate data already available in the platform, as of today, intermodal savings rates are now included in SONAR, as a national average, for 63 individual lanes, and two indices.  The LA to Dallas lane is competitive between truckload and intermodal with a 9% average intermodal savings rate. […]

SONAR, a leading global supply chain intelligence platform, is pleased to announce an enhanced partnership with WeatherOptics, a leading weather impact and risk intelligence provider. This collaboration allows mutual customers to customize the Critical Events module within the SONAR platform by easily uploading their own specific locations and facilities, enabling them to better anticipate and […]

Staying ahead of the freight market just got easier. We’re excited to roll out a new enhancement to our charting experience: Seasonally Adjusted Moving Average Projections. This feature forecasts a trendline six months into the future, giving you a clear, data-driven view of where the market might be heading based not only on historical patterns, […]

SONAR is proud to announce significant upgrades to its integration with Oracle Transportation Management (OTM), bringing real-time freight market intelligence directly into OTM workflows through a partnership with Redwood Connect. Just in time for the OTM Sig conference, this enhanced integration also introduces SCORE, SONAR’s exclusive shipper consortium, enabling actionable benchmarking insights and accelerated return […]

SONAR has launched a new capability allowing users to search and visualize spot rates at the lane level and compare year-over-year seasonality directly within its charts. This enhancement to the high-frequency freight market intelligence platform aims to provide shippers, carriers, and brokers with critical insights for navigating the volatile transportation market. The ability to track […]

SONAR has released a suite of summer product upgrades designed to let users get even more specific with their data comparison needs.

Dozens of household names are already using this new way to book trucking capacity in a way that reflects the larger market.

SONAR’s Container Atlas shows new booking volumes plummeting over 35% from their Aug. 1 peak, a key indicator that U.S. import demand is rapidly deteriorating. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

Ocean carriers are steadily losing pricing power on the trans-Pacific as China to U.S. demand peaks for the second half of 2023.

U.S. import demand is likely peaking and could soon begin a steady decline toward a “new” bottom in the back half of 2023.

Softening demand in an excess of vessel capacity is putting tremendous downwards pressure on ocean container spot rates.

FreightWaves SONAR has launched the Index-Linked Contracts solution to help shippers and carriers get consistent service and volumes.

Users of Container Atlas can streamline their global supply chains with cutting-edge ocean freight analytics.

Redwood Logistics and FreightWaves have partnered to unlock the SONAR freight market intelligence platform for OTM users.

An unprecedented level of caution among importers likely to cause further declines in import volumes.

Further downside risks to the U.S. economy are increasing the odds of a further decline in containerized import volumes.

There are encouraging signs that demand is returning to the U.S. trucking market, based on high-frequency truckload volume data from FreightWaves SONAR.

FreightWaves has announced that its TRAC spot rates have been integrated into FreightFriend, a truckload procurement platform.

Early freight data and channel checks would suggest the freight market could be stabilizing and clearer skies are ahead. 

Debate on whether we are in a freight recession has been raging since the first quarter of 2022. The conclusion is now obvious: Freight volumes have collapsed this year, dragging down spot rates with them.

Outbound demand in Harrisburg and Allentown, Pennsylvania, bottomed out at the start of the month and are starting to slowly rise. Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, both are seeing rejection rates drop to a two-year low.

Atlanta still owns the most market share by outbound volume but saw a drop in its value as demand falls further. Imports to the Port of New York and New Jersey fell to their lowest levels since 2021, bringing surface transportation volumes down with them.

Contracted tender volumes in Ontario, California, remain at their lowest levels since 2020, and markets in Illinois are struggling to recover from drops this month.

Markets along the East Coast in the path of Tropical Depression Nicole are seeing relatively normal fluctuations in rejections in volume compared to previous severe storms.

Dry van volume dropped significantly this month leading into the holidays, but reefer demand remains strong. Diesel price per gallon grows slowly, but the spread between wholesale and retail prices rises.

Markets across the board have been seeing drops in both inbound and outbound volume since the start of the month.

Outbound volumes from Atlanta are picking back up after hitting their lowest levels since 2020, and imports to the Port of New York and New Jersey drop, dragging truckload volumes with them.

FreightWaves unveiled two new features in SONAR at the F3 event, and container spot rates from China dropped further.

Forum Mobility, a startup in California, is focusing on zero-emission transportation by creating more charging stations and offering EV trucking-as-a-service.

Truckload volumes in Elizabeth, New Jersey, are still rising after a boost in imports last week, but that will likely change in the days ahead. Detroit’s volume boom went bust, bringing reactions to their lowest on record since 2018.

Charlotte, North Carolina, is seeing a slow recovery after volumes dropped to their lowest levels since February of 2021, and reefer volume in Milwaukee is up more than 22% this week.

Outbound demand in Denver is swinging up after falling to a two-year low earlier this month, and Salt Lake City has shown consistent headhaul market activity since Labor Day.

Outbound demand in Fort Worth, Texas, is up for the second week in a row, and diesel prices have stopped increasing but show no sign of which direction they will go next.

Ontario, California, outbound volumes have been trending up the last two weeks, while volumes in Joliet, Illinois, started to recover but have flatlined.

Overall outbound volume levels out of Milwaukee are down this month, with the majority of the drop coming from reefer demand. Atlanta’s outbound volumes have trickled down this month, bringing down its market share.

Imported container volumes to the Port of New York and New Jersey are up this week after a 27% decline, and outbound volumes in Detroit remain high but aren’t gaining any more ground.

Dallas lost more market share by outbound volume this week as volumes continue to decline, and spot rates from China to the East and West coasts of the US dropped after a week of little to no change.

Volumes out of Seattle are trending up this week after reaching a two-year low, and diesel prices are up more than 30 cents since the start of the month.

An overview of Day 1 of F3: Future of Freight Festival.

Imports to the Port of Houston saw an increase in the first week of October, bringing up truckload volumes. Fall produce in Spokane, Washington, builds demand.

Imported container volumes to LA are up this week after taking a drop in the beginning of Q4, allowing the surface transportation market to start to recover leading into peak season.

Demand peaked over the summer in Detroit, but volumes are taking a sharp drop this month; and Nashville sees a major upswing in Q4.

Reefer volumes in Illinois remained elevated throughout most of October 2021. Although they were up leading into October this year, reefer volumes have since dropped significantly.

After a monthlong decline in volumes from Southern California, they begin to tick upward this week, and spot rates from Rotterdam to New York rise 8.4%.

FreightWaves and Revenova announce a partnership that will benefit mutual customers.

The Lakeland and Jacksonville markets are both recovering from Ian, but tender rejections remain relatively high. Retail diesel prices are swinging back up, collapsing the spread between retail and wholesale.

After reaching a six-month high in outbound demand, volume in Chicago is on a steady downward stream, and both major markets in Pennsylvania are also experiencing declines.

Dallas, Cincinnati and Denver are all experiencing upward trends after outbound volume lows.

As Southern California is the heartbeat of outbound truckload volume, the significant decrease in freight coming out of the region reflects in national freight volumes; maritime booking volume from all ports in SONAR Container Atlas are down 20% from this time last year.

FreightWaves and Hubtek are partnering to offer SONAR data in Hubtek’s TABi Connect.

The reefer market in Milwaukee is the primary driver behind its demand, and in the last year volumes are down 59%. Ocean spot rates from China to both U.S. coasts drop even further as the fourth quarter starts.

Atlanta is seeing consistent levels of outbound volume, retaining the majority market share with 4.1%. Diesel prices are decreasing at a faster rate than they increased over the summer.

The port of Savannah imported more than 200,000 TEUs in September, and truckload volumes in Denver plunged to a two-year low.

Reefer volumes in Fresno, California, continue a decline as September closes, while both inbound and outbound volumes in Memphis, Tennessee, are consistently trending upward.

Atlanta is seeing a sharp rise in outbound volume, and markets in Florida, southern Georgia and Alabama increase inbound volume in preparation for the hurricane.

Truckload volumes in Ontario, California, decline as the ports hit their lowest market share in decades, and Port Houston sees a drop in imports.

Outbound volumes from Detroit are back to their highest levels on record since 2018, and the spread in intermodal rates between Atlanta and LA is its lowest since 2021.

Imports to the Port of New York and New Jersey are down this week, causing the Elizabeth, New Jersey, truckload market to soften. Shipments worldwide are down more than 33% since July 1.

FreightWaves founder and CEO Craig Fuller outlines how FreightWaves SONAR pointed to the global freight recession months ago.

Headhaul markets historically begin to send out more volume in preparation for the holiday peak, but 2022 continues to show different trends.

Rejection rates in El Paso swung upward in response to an increase in outbound volume, and the Department of Energy clocks diesel prices below $5 per gallon for the first time since April.

Reefer volumes spike in Illinois, the port of Houston sees a record number of TEUs in August, and exports from China continue to slide worldwide.

Outbound tender volumes are down in the last couple of days to their lowest levels since the start of the summer, and the record breaking levels in Detroit are over — for now.

Outbound volume in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is booming, raising its market share to 3%. Flatbed market experiences a significant decrease in rejections.

Ontario, California, makes a full recovery of outbound volume, and the spread between rates to import to the East and West coasts increases.

FreightWaves has partnered with MerQube to bring the first index to track the performance of the supply chain and logistics industry. National outbound volume levels out while rejection rates continue their decline.

SONAR data for Sept. 12 shows reefer volumes in Memphis are heating up, while the larger reefer market of Milwaukee is seeing a decrease.

Phoenix and Denver are both seeing an uptick in outbound volumes days after the holiday drop, and capacity in Elizabeth, New Jersey, handles the increased port volume.

Containerized imports to Savannah were increasing before the holiday, and rejection rates out of Dallas fell 100 basis points since Monday.

Nashville, Tennessee’s, rejection rates have crashed to their lowest values since April 2020, putting downward pressure on spot rates, but in Kansas City, Missouri, rejections and rates are both rising.

The rate at which carriers are rejecting freight out of LA is pushing spot market rates upward, while the opposite is happening in Detroit.

At the start of September, outbound volumes in Indianapolis dropped 4.5% overnight. Meanwhile, in Greenville, South Carolina, they increased 14.5% overnight.

Salt Lake City is seeing increased outbound volume to start September, while Denver continues to experience a decline.

Outbound volumes from New Orleans are rising sharply at the end of the month while they plunge in San Antonio.

Dwell times in the Port of Los Angeles dropped below four days, and outbound volumes are up in Savannah, Georgia, due to more imports being sent to the East Coast.

Outbound volumes in Allentown continue to rise at the start of the week, and Detroit levels are nearing a record since 2018.

Outbound volumes in Ontario are up after a 12.3% drop earlier this month but decline in the formerly greener pastures of South Carolina.

Imported twenty-foot equivalent units cleared through customs to the Port of New York and New Jersey fell last week, and truckload volumes in St. Louis are climbing this week.