Freight rates data

Freight rates data shows the price of moving goods by ocean, air, road or rail on specific lanes over time. Shippers use it to benchmark contracts and budget logistics costs, forwarders and carriers to price their services, and analysts and traders to track supply chain pressure and trade demand.

Typical fields

• Lane: origin and destination port, airport or region
• Mode and equipment type, such as 40ft container or reefer
• Rate, currency and unit (per container, per kg, per truckload)
• Rate type: spot, contract or index
• Surcharges such as fuel and peak season
• Validity dates or collection date
• Transit time and number of data points behind the rate

Sources and collection

Rates come from shipper and forwarder invoices contributed to benchmarks, carrier tariffs, quote platforms and broker transactions. Index providers aggregate many prices per lane into a single benchmark. The method matters: averages of all-in spot quotes behave differently from contract rates or published tariffs, and thin lanes with few data points can swing sharply.

Delivery and pricing

Expect weekly or daily index files, APIs and dashboards with lane-level benchmarks. Price depends on the number of lanes and modes, history depth, update frequency and whether contract benchmarks are included. Some indices are free at headline level, with lane detail paid.

Before you buy

• Check whether rates are spot, contract or tariff, and all-in or base.
• Ask how many data points support each lane and period.
• Confirm which surcharges are included and how currencies are converted.
• Check history depth for budgeting and contract analysis.
• Ask whether the index may be referenced in index-linked contracts.