SONAR Adds Routing Guide Cost Data and Carrier Monitoring Tools

Shippers can now compare how often freight moves beyond its first tender with the added cost of those backup assignments. SONAR has introduced three truckload data groups for routing guide performance and contract rate changes, alongside expanded SearchCarriers tools for ongoing carrier monitoring and equipment checks.

The datasets measure what shippers pay brokers and carriers to move freight. They don’t measure carrier operating costs or broker margins. Each updates daily on a seven-day rolling average and is available in SONAR.

Putting a price on backup tenders

Routing Guide Premium, tracked under RGP2.USA and RGP3.USA, measures the median percentage change in a load’s all-in transportation cost when it is accepted on the second or third tender rather than the first. The calculation includes the base rate, fuel and accessorial charges.

As of Oct. 20, 2026, second-tender loads cost a median 22.02% more than first-tender loads. The premium for third-tender loads was 26.44%. Both measures rose above 30% around the December holidays, early February and late June into July. Those peaks show how sharply the cost of finding backup capacity can change over time.

Routing Guide Premium (RGP2.USA, RGP3.USA) and Contract Rate Change Direction (CRCD.USA), Oct. 2025–Oct. 2026. Source: SONAR.

Routing Guide Acceptance Share provides the other side of that picture: the share of accepted loads assigned at each tender position, from the first through the fifth and beyond. SONAR’s RGAS1.USA, RGAS2.USA and RGAS3.USA track first-, second- and third-tender acceptances.

On Oct. 20, 2026, 89.05% of accepted loads were covered at the first tender, below the 12-month average of 91.60%. Second-tender acceptances accounted for 6.84%, and third-tender acceptances made up 4.11%. Read with the premium data, those shares help teams assess both how often freight rolls to a backup provider and what that shift costs.

Routing Guide Acceptance Share by tender position (RGAS1.USA, RGAS2.USA, RGAS3.USA). Source: SONAR.

Contract resets point to higher base rates

Contract Rate Change Direction, or CRCD.USA, measures the average percentage change between new and previous contract base rates. It includes only changes where the previous rate had been stable for more than 90 days, a filter intended to leave out short-term fluctuations.

A positive reading means new base rates are higher than the rates they replace. CRCD.USA stood at 12.58% on Oct. 20, 2026, well above its 12-month average of 8.34%. The index has risen steadily since late 2025. For shippers, brokers and carriers, the measure offers a view of contract pricing direction and potential pressure around bid timing.

Together, the three data groups help frame a routing guide decision: acceptance share indicates how often a load gets past its first option, premium measures the added all-in cost at later tenders, and CRCD tracks how replacement contract base rates are changing. Teams can use those signals to examine routing guide performance and rebid timing.

SearchCarriers adds ongoing monitoring

SONAR has also expanded SearchCarriers beyond one-time carrier checks. Users can build a personal Company Watches list by company name or USDOT number, track up to 200 carriers and add multiple carriers through Bulk Import.

For each carrier, users can select alerts covering inspections, contact information, reported trucks, trailers or drivers, overdue MCS-150 status, for-sale monitoring and out-of-service orders. They can also select all available updates. After adding and verifying a notification email in settings, users receive messages when a watched carrier changes in a selected area.

SearchCarriers Company Watches lets users monitor carriers by USDOT number and choose which changes trigger alerts. Source: SONAR SearchCarriers.

The alert system can bring changes such as new out-of-service orders, contact updates or overdue MCS-150 status to a team’s attention between manual reviews. SearchCarriers also adds a search for individual carrier inspections, which can help teams retrieve details during qualification reviews and audits.

Equipment lookup accepts a vehicle identification number (VIN) or license plate and returns available information about a truck or trailer. That gives dock and carrier teams another way to check whether arriving equipment matches the carrier they booked.

The additions support work at different points in carrier management: watchlists keep changes visible after onboarding, inspection search speeds up record checks, and equipment lookup helps verify a truck or trailer before loading. The data releases add a separate cost and performance view for freight moving through a routing guide.

Routing Guide Premium, Routing Guide Acceptance Share and Contract Rate Change Direction are available in SONAR. Request a SONAR demo to review the data and expanded SearchCarriers tools.

The post SONAR launches new routing guide and contract rate data, plus expanded SearchCarriers monitoring appeared first on FreightWaves.