Spot Market Intelligence · Monthly
Spot Freight Market Report, July 2026: the Tabi Pricing Pressure Index
Spot market intelligence that shows you where demand is heading before it reaches the load boards, so you know when to hold your rate and when to compete.
Executive summary
Three numbers define July: the index moved deeper into broker favored territory, awarded margin gave some of that back, and quote volume kept climbing.
- Awarded margin fell 4.5 points month over month, from 21.4% to 16.9%, though the pace of decline slowed week over week.
- At 16.9%, awarded margin still sits 2.2 points above the historical average of 14.7%. Brokers are keeping more on each load than they normally do.
- Quote volume is up 15.2% versus the prior 4 week average. More freight is being shopped to spot, consistent with rising shipper demand or an increase in contract tender rejections.
- Volume is growing while awarded margin compresses. Brokers are capturing more freight by pricing tighter.
- Average haul length held steady at roughly 674 miles, so there was no meaningful shift in lane mix behind the margin move.
The TPPI stands at 36, firmly in broker favored territory. The 4 week average of 26 is running below the 8 week average of 29, a gradual shift toward brokers, and the latest week alone picked up 10 points. Market pricing is becoming more predictable.
Three things drove the period. Awarded margin compressed from 21.4% to 16.9%, the quote to market spread narrowed from 22.6% to 18.8%, and quote volume rose 15.2%. All three are 4 week rolling averages and line up with the figures above.
A note on interpretation: awarded margin is measured against broker baseline pricing, not spot truck rates. When both awarded margin and quote to market spread compress together, brokers are pricing closer to market to remain competitive, a sign the market is shifting broker favored with shippers holding less leverage on the spot side.
TPPI trend
Composite index from 0 to 100, weekly readings from January 2025 to present. When the index rises, the market is moving shipper favored. When it falls, brokers recover pricing power.
- TPPI sits at 36, firmly in broker favored territory. The reading moved up 10 points week over week.
- The 4 week average of 26 is running below the 8 week average of 29, confirming a sustained broker favored trend.
Quote to market spread
How far above or below the market benchmark brokers are quoting, as a percentage of the market rate. Based on every submitted quote regardless of whether it won the load, so it reflects how confident brokers are when they price.
- Brokers are quoting 18.8% above market on the 4 week average, with last week easing back to 15.7%. The pullback likely reflects increased rate confidence and quoting competition as capacity became more predictable than it was for the majority of a volatile July.
- The spread narrowed by 3.9 percentage points month over month, moving from 22.6% to 18.8%. Brokers are pulling quotes closer to market, which reflects less confidence in premium pricing.
Shipper size segmentation
Spot market shippers are grouped into three tiers by average weekly quote volume. Tier assignment uses each shipper’s all time spot activity, while every metric shown reflects the most recent 4 weeks.
Regular
- Shippers
- 344
- Quote volume
- 6.8%
- Win rate
- 4.43%
- Awarded margin
- 17.4%
- Avg quoted price
- $2,771
- Avg market rate
- $2,435
- Spread vs. market
- +13.8%
High Frequency
- Shippers
- 328
- Quote volume
- 37.7%
- Win rate
- 2.86%
- Awarded margin
- 16.9%
- Avg quoted price
- $2,790
- Avg market rate
- $2,396
- Spread vs. market
- +16.5%
Enterprise
- Shippers
- 47
- Quote volume
- 55.5%
- Win rate
- 0.22%
- Awarded margin
- 16.2%
- Avg quoted price
- $2,783
- Avg market rate
- $2,291
- Spread vs. market
- +21.5%
Awarded margin by shipper size
Weighted average margin on won loads, by tier.
- Awarded margin barely moves across the three tiers, holding between 16.2% and 17.4%. A shipper’s size does very little to change how much a broker keeps per load. Size moves win rate far more than it moves margin.
- Enterprise shippers win at a rate 4.21 points lower than Regular shippers, 0.22% against 4.43%. They spread each shipment across more brokers, so no single broker captures much of the award even when the freight is moving.
Awarded volume trend
Month over month change in the share of quotes that convert to awarded freight. A positive month means shippers converted a larger share of quote requests into awarded loads than the month before.
| Month | MoM change |
|---|---|
| Jul 2026 Current | −3.7% |
| Jun 2026 | +1.3% |
| May 2026 | +46.8% |
| Apr 2026 | −18.7% |
| Mar 2026 | +14.2% |
| Feb 2026 | +18.4% |
| Jan 2026 | −10.4% |
Awarded rate (win rate) cohorts
Shippers grouped by win rate, meaning awarded spot quotes divided by total spot quotes. Shows how awarded margin and market spread change as shippers get more or less selective about what they award.
| Win rate bucket | Awarded margin | Market spread | Total quotes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1% | 17.3% | +21.5% | 35.4% |
| 1 to 2% | 13.9% | +15.1% | 11.9% |
| 2 to 4% | 16.7% | +20.0% | 14.1% |
| Over 4% | 14.2% | +11.7% | 38.6% |
- Shippers awarding more than 4% of quotes generate 3.1 points less awarded margin than those awarding under 1%, at 14.2% against 17.3%.
- The best awarded margin shows up in the Under 1% win rate cohort at 17.3%. This is the range where brokers win enough freight to make it worth the effort while still holding pricing power, the clearest sweet spot in the data.
- Market spread does not track selectivity cleanly either. It is widest in the Under 1% cohort at 21.5%, where brokers quote high on freight that rarely converts, and tightest in the Over 4% cohort at 11.7%. Spread on its own is a weak predictor of how a shipper awards.
Equipment type breakdown
Spot market metrics broken out by trailer and equipment type, covering effectively all spot quote volume.
| Equipment type | Total quotes | Win rate | Awarded margin | Market spread | Volume share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Van | 63.0% | 1.97% | 14.5% | +16.9% | 63.0% |
| Reefer | 33.4% | 0.60% | 14.7% | +20.9% | 33.4% |
| Flatbed | 3.5% | 2.28% | 13.3% | +23.3% | 3.5% |
- Van carries 63.0% of spot quote volume at a 1.97% win rate and 14.5% awarded margin. It sets the baseline for the whole market.
- Reefer holds the highest awarded margin at 14.7%, while flatbed is the tightest at 13.3%. The 1.3 point gap between them comes down to how capacity behaves in each segment.
- Flatbed quotes run 23.3% above market against van at 16.9%, so brokers price flatbed with more headroom. Thinner, more specialized capacity gives them room to do it.
Point changes in this report are calculated from unrounded values, so they may differ by 0.1 from the difference of the rounded percentages shown.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Tabi Pricing Pressure Index (TPPI)?
The TPPI is a composite index from 0 to 100 that tracks weekly pricing pressure in the spot freight market using spot freight quoting activity. A rising index means the market is moving shipper favored, so shippers gain leverage and brokers have to quote more competitively. A falling index means the market is moving broker favored, so brokers recover pricing power and awarded margin tends to improve. Contract freight is not included.
What does a broker favored spot market mean for freight brokers?
A broker favored market means brokers hold more pricing power on spot freight. Brokers can generally quote with less discounting and still win freight, which supports awarded margin. It also tends to coincide with a narrower quote to market spread, since brokers do not need to price as far above the market benchmark to stay competitive.
How is awarded margin measured in this report?
Awarded margin is measured against broker baseline pricing rather than spot truck rates, and is reported as a 4 week rolling average unless noted otherwise. It reflects the margin brokers keep on the loads they actually win.
How often does Tabi Connect publish spot market intelligence?
Tabi Connect publishes the Spot Market Intelligence report monthly, drawing on spot freight quoting activity across its broker network from the prior month.
Price this market at the speed it moves
When quote to market spread and awarded margin move together, the brokers who reprice fastest keep the most freight. Tabi’s API returns freight quotes in about 3 seconds, and RPA based rates return in under 50 seconds, so your desk is never quoting on last week’s market.
See Tabi in actionWant this data in your TMS? Tabi Connect integrates with 70+ shipper platforms and bid boards, including CargoChief, Transfix, e2open, BluJay/E2open, MercuryGate, Truckstop, DAT, and FreightWaves SONAR.