Motive and Highway Restore ELD Data Access After Integration Dispute

Shoaib Makani, co-founder and CEO of Motive, said: “Our carriers depend on an ecosystem of partners to run their businesses. We are pleased to have reached a path forward with Highway that supports our customers and provides clarity around data use.”

What the Statement Does Not Say

The announcement restores the data flow. It does not resolve the question that stopped it.

Highway’s notice to its brokerage customers earlier this week stated that Motive had asked to be compensated for access to carrier data, and that Highway does not charge carriers and did not intend to begin doing so in order to preserve the connection. The joint statement makes no reference to compensation, licensing fees or any payment between the two companies. Neither company has said whether money will change hands, in which direction, or on what basis.

The statement is also explicit that the underlying contract has not been rewritten. The companies describe themselves as in discussions to update their existing agreement, which places the commercial terms in an open state even as the technical connection returns to normal. What has been announced is a restoration of service, not a settlement.

Neither company disclosed how long the disruption lasted, how many carriers were affected, or how many brokers experienced reduced visibility during the period. Motive serves customers across trucking, construction, oil and gas, agriculture and other sectors and does not break out how many motor carriers have equipment connected to Highway.

The Performance Guarantee Question

One element of the disruption is unaddressed in the joint statement.

When Highway notified its customers of the limits, it said it could not provide location-based Load Lock Alerts for loads hauled by carriers using Motive devices and that it could no longer back freight moved by those carriers under its Performance Guarantee, the commercial backstop under which Highway assumes financial responsibility for outcomes on loads moved by carriers it has verified. Withdrawing that coverage moved risk back onto the broker.

The joint statement addresses data refresh frequency. It does not state that Performance Guarantee coverage has been reinstated for Motive carriers, and neither company has separately confirmed that it has. Whether restored data access automatically returns those loads to covered status is a question for Highway, and it is the detail brokerage risk teams will want answered before adjusting their carrier selection back.

How the Dispute Started

Highway told brokerage compliance leaders this week that Motive had imposed new limits on the existing integration between the two platforms, effective immediately, and had begun restricting API access while indicating that Highway would need to pay for carrier data. Highway said the practical effect was that Motive ELD data refreshed less frequently inside its platform, reducing broker visibility into those trucks.

During the disruption, Highway offered an alternate tracking path for Load Lock Plus customers through its carrier-facing mobile application, while acknowledging that application-based tracking is disconnected from the equipment itself. The company also said it would work with the more than 275 other ELD providers it integrates with to offer discounted alternatives to carriers considering a change, a step that pointed carriers toward Motive’s competitors.

Highway didn’t comment during the disruption. Motive made no public statement until the joint release.

The speed of the resolution is notable. The dispute became public and was resolved inside the same week.

What Remains Open

Three questions survive the announcement. Whether either company will pay the other, and on what terms. Whether Performance Guarantee coverage has been restored for loads moved by Motive carriers. And whether the updated agreement now under discussion will establish a pricing framework for ELD data access that other integrations across the industry might follow.

That third question is the one with reach beyond these two companies. Carrier vetting platforms depend on data connections to dozens of ELD providers, and the commercial terms underpinning most of those connections were set years ago, when both categories were smaller and the verification layer was not yet load-bearing for freight movement.

Why It Matters

A connection that brokers rely on to verify capacity went down and came back inside a week without carriers or brokers taking any action, which demonstrates both how quickly commercial disputes between vendors can reach freight and how little visibility the affected parties have into them. The agreement that governs that connection is still being written, so the conditions that produced this disruption have not yet been resolved.