Truckstop has launched a dry van–specific load board that bakes FreightWaves’ SONAR rate intelligence directly into the workflow, aiming squarely at owner-operators and small fleets with an entry price of $35 per month. The company says the new board is designed to make it faster to find verified freight and negotiate with real-time lane-level signals.
The offer comes in two tiers. Basic includes unlimited searches and core decision tools like private loads from approved brokers, visibility into load popularity and truck counts, factoring eligibility, a routes map and access to Canadian freight. Pro layers in SONAR’s same-day and forecast rate data so carriers can benchmark a lane and anticipate near-term moves before they pick a load. Pro also adds workflow tools such as real-time live loads, side-by-side load comparison, an RPM heat map, multi-trip planning and mobile alerts.
Why this matters: van carriers have been squeezed harder than other equipment types through the recent downcycle. Truckstop frames the rollout—and its “founder’s original” price point—as relief for small carriers who need better leverage at the negotiating table without taking on enterprise software costs. The company’s pitch is that putting SONAR’s lane intelligence where carriers actually choose freight can shorten decision time and reduce misses on rate inflection points.
Timing isn’t accidental. The launch lands during FreightWaves’ F3: Future of Freight Festival this week in Chattanooga, where SONAR product sessions and live programming are spotlighting uses of high-frequency freight data—an audience that includes Truckstop leadership on stage. Pairing a lower-cost board with embedded rate signals sends a clear signal in the load-board arms race: data transparency isn’t just for big broker desktops anymore.
Industry impact: if the van-only board attracts critical mass, expect pricing discipline on similar point solutions and a faster spread of integrated market signals across day-to-day carrier tools. For small fleets, the immediate upside is tactical—more confidence picking lanes and stacking trips; if adoption is broad, the longer-term effect could be tighter spreads between posted and paid rates on the spot market as more carriers transact on the same reference signals.
What to watch next: whether Truckstop extends the equipment-specific approach to reefer and flatbed, how quickly carriers adopt the Pro tier for SONAR access, and whether competitors respond with their own embedded data plays or adjusted pricing for small-fleet plans.
Sources: FreightWaves, Truckstop.com, FreightWaves Events
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