Rejected loads cost a median 22% more, new tender data shows

Loads that get rejected by the first carrier and fall deeper into a shipper's routing guide carry a steep premium — a median 22.02% more all-in at the second tender and 26.44% more at the third — according to FreightWaves on Oct. 22, reporting new SONAR routing-guide and contract-rate data as of Oct. 20.

The premiums are not steady. Both the second- and third-tender premiums spiked above 30% around the December holidays, in early February and again in late June and July, when capacity tightened. First-tender loads accounted for 89.05% of tenders, against a 12-month average of 91.60%, with second tenders at 6.84% and third tenders at 4.11% — a sign more freight is falling through to backup carriers than a year ago.

Contract rates are drifting up at the same time. SONAR's Contract Rate Change Direction index read 12.58%, versus a 12-month average of 8.34%, and has climbed steadily since late 2025. The index counts only lanes where the prior rate had been stable for more than 90 days, so it tracks genuine repricing rather than churn. The datasets update daily on a seven-day rolling average and measure what shippers pay providers — not carrier costs or broker margins.

SONAR also expanded its SearchCarriers tool with watchlists of up to 200 carriers per user, email alerts, inspection search and equipment lookup by VIN or plate — more tooling aimed at vetting carriers before a load is tendered, not after something goes wrong.