Freight Intel Report market intelligence
See the freight signals behind the headlines.
FIR connects pricing, rail performance, modal economics, technology adoption and cargo flow so transportation leaders can recognize changing conditions earlier and act with better context.
Intelligence readings refreshed: October 23, 2026. Page dates do not make monthly, quarterly or historical evidence current; observation and release dates remain visible on each linked reading. Incomplete components remain labelled.
Featured intelligence
FIR publishes market intelligence only when the underlying signal can be attributed, dated and explained.
FIR Load Alignment Engine™
Test shipper value, broker margin integrity, carrier load quality and execution confidence before tender. The proprietary FIR Alignment Score™ penalizes loads that work only because one party absorbs disproportionate operating risk.
Status: Available user-input calculator; not a live market feed.
FIR Multimodal Rate Monitor™
Track public pricing and cost pressure across truck inputs, rail, barge and ocean freight. Each mode retains its own unit, market coverage and observation date so unlike benchmarks are not blended into a misleading average.
Status: Separately refreshed Rate Monitor; its live page was refreshed October 23, 2026. Each mode retains its own observation date; see that page for the latest qualified releases.
View current signalsFIR RailTempo™
Understand how train speed, terminal dwell, traffic mix and network constraints interact—and why no single rail statistic can describe service for every railroad, lane or shipper.
Reading: U.S. traffic week ending October 17, 2026; released October 21. Strengthening demand; service composite incomplete.
View RailTempo SignalsFIR Over-the-Road Market Index™
Truckload and LTL conditions can diverge sharply by lane, equipment and customer. FIR will connect tender rejection and acceptance behavior, spot-versus-contract pricing, capacity, fuel, service and regional lane pressure so shippers and carriers can recognize tightening or loosening conditions before a national average makes them obvious.
Reading: September tonnage, PPI and employment, and October 19 diesel. Cost-led tightening; tonnage rebounded modestly while fuel rose nationally and regionally.
View OTR Market ConditionsFIR ModeVantage™
The cheapest linehaul option is not always the lowest-cost freight decision. FIR compares truck and intermodal using transportation cost, drayage, transit time, inventory exposure and service risk so shippers can see where rail creates a durable lane advantage—and where apparent savings disappear.
Status: Available user-input lane calculator; not a live market feed.
Evaluate Your LaneFIR Technology Adoption Tracker™
Freight technology is crowded with announcements and pilots. FIR separates promotion from contracted deployment, integrated use, scaled adoption and measurable results so leaders can identify which automation, visibility, AI and digital tools are changing operations—and which remain mostly narrative.
Reading: National SI (formerly AI) use reference September 21–October 4, 2026; released October 22, with a wording-change caution. Historical depth evidence retained and dated; no universal freight score.
View Technology Adoption DataFIR Port & Inland Flow Monitor™
Strong container volume does not guarantee smooth cargo flow. FIR connects vessel and terminal throughput with loaded-versus-empty mix, dwell, rail-ramp performance, truck access and inland constraints to reveal where congestion is forming and which part of the network requires attention.
Reading: Los Angeles September 2026 cargo; released October 9. Record flow, mixed inland evidence; inland service incomplete.
View Port & Inland FlowsFIR Cross-Border Flow & Friction Monitor™
North American trade volume can rise while border fluidity deteriorates. FIR connects truck and rail flows, commercial crossing delays, directional balance, modal shifts and industry exposure so decision-makers can see where U.S.–Mexico and U.S.–Canada freight pressure is forming.
Reading: August 2026 trade value; released October 21. Positive annual value growth; friction/gateway concentration incomplete.
Monitor Cross-Border FlowFIR FreightVector™
Freight rarely moves in one clean direction. FIR connects demand, capacity, transportation prices, fuel, service, inventories, industrial activity and trade to show whether conditions are strengthening, weakening or diverging—and what that means for budgeting, procurement and network planning.
Reading: Q2 revised GDP, August manufacturing, September tonnage/PPI, rail through October 17 and October 19 diesel. Expansion under cost pressure.
View Freight ConditionsExecutive briefs & historical context
A new freight number matters more when leaders can see what preceded it, whether earlier releases changed and which evidence could confirm or contradict the direction. FIR executive briefs deliver that context for procurement, routing, risk and leadership decisions.
Receive Executive BriefsThree rules for reading freight data
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Join the Freight Intel Briefing for new readings, source-backed analysis and concise decision context.
Coverage note: The Multimodal Rate Monitor provides FIR’s current public-market readings. FIR presents each market signal according to the evidence currently available. FIR does not publish universal market scores unless the calculation method, source coverage and limitations can be stated clearly alongside the result.