FIR Intelligence Center

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.

Primary-source contextObservation dates preservedModes kept comparableDecision-focused interpretation
How to use this center: Start with the live Multimodal Rate Monitor for current public-market signals. Use the topic guides below to understand the forces FIR tracks across rail, intermodal, ports, technology and the broader freight cycle. Each section distinguishes measured evidence from interpretation and notes where available data cannot support a universal conclusion.

Featured intelligence

FIR publishes market intelligence only when the underlying signal can be attributed, dated and explained.

Pre-tender decision record · Featured

Freight Decision Passport™

Informational decision assistance that evaluates the quote, rate confirmation, accessorial schedule, liability terms and shipment requirements before tender. It identifies assumptions, missing protections and potential exposure; the user remains responsible for independently verifying information and making the final transportation decision. $249 per completed decision.

Use the Decision Passport
Interactive decision engine · New

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.

Use the Alignment Engine
Live market monitor

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.

View current signals
Rail intelligence guide

FIR 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.

View RailTempo Signals

FIR 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.

View OTR Market Conditions

FIR 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.

Evaluate Your Lane

FIR 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.

View Technology Adoption Data

FIR 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.

View Port & Inland Flows

FIR 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.

Monitor Cross-Border Flow

FIR 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.

View Freight Conditions

Executive 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 Briefs

Three rules for reading freight data

Do not confuse cost with price.Fuel or labor pressure can rise while linehaul pricing falls if demand and capacity move differently.
Do not blend market dates.Weekly, monthly and quarterly releases describe different periods and should retain their own observation dates.
Do not nationalize a local signal.Port, terminal, lane and commodity conditions may diverge sharply from broad national measures.

Receive material freight-signal updates.

Join the Freight Intel Briefing for new readings, source-backed analysis and concise decision context.

Join the briefing

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.