The U.S. Department of Transportation announced it had awarded a contract to FreightWaves SONAR to provide high-frequency freight market data for federal transportation analysis and economic research.
The freight data platform will provide enhanced visibility into freight market conditions, supply chain activity, and transportation trends to support data-driven analyses of infrastructure, freight market health, carrier health and the overall national economy for the DOT’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology.
“As we continue to modernize our processes in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, it is vital that the USDOT have access to the most robust and current data sources. Our agreement with Sonar is another step we are taking on our journey to modernize our systems here at the USDOT,” Lee White, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, said.
Officials said the move was part of its effort to strengthen oversight of the nation’s transportation and supply chain networks, while focusing on safety, security and resilience. The contract with FreightWaves will allow the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology to use SONAR’s aggregated and anonymized freight market data to deliver real-time context on how freight moves through the U.S. economy.
Officials said SONAR’s platform captures daily freight market activity at the point of booking and procurement, which provides earlier visibility into shifts in transportation demand, network utilization and capacity conditions across the freight ecosystem.
“Freight is the heartbeat of the U.S. economy, and policymakers shouldn’t have to wait months to take its pulse. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology has long set the standard for transportation information, and we’re proud that SONAR’s real-time freight market data will now strengthen that work — helping build a stronger, safer, and more resilient supply chain,” Craig Fuller, founder and CEO of FreightWaves, said.