SONAR has rolled out the Accepted SONAR Truckload Volume Index (ASTVI), a daily index that tracks freight that was actually accepted and moved, not just tendered. This piece explains what ASTVI measures, why that distinction matters, where the data shows up, and how shippers, brokers, carriers, and analysts can use it to see real market flow.
Tender acceptance rates have long been a blunt signal of pressure in the truckload market, but they only tell part of the story. Lots of loads get offered that never clear the rejection process, and relying on tendered volume alone can make demand look healthier than it really is. ASTVI targets the part of the market that matters most: freight that carriers actually accept and haul.
ASTVI isolates accepted truckload demand by removing rejection noise and filtering out loads that never move. That makes the index a cleaner representation of market throughput, rather than a reflection of selling effort or routing guide behavior. In practice, this means users see an uncluttered view of how much freight is genuinely flowing at any given time.
The index is built for multiple levels of granularity: national, regional, and market-specific. It updates every business day and separates total accepted volume into van and reefer categories, with week-over-week, month-over-month, and year-over-year change metrics. That combination of frequency and sliceability gives teams the signal they need without having to stitch together several disparate datasets.
The difference between tendered and accepted freight becomes especially important in soft markets when routing guide compliance slips and the gap between offered and accepted loads widens. When carriers start rejecting more tenders, headline tender volumes can be misleading. ASTVI surfaces that spread directly, making it easier to spot where demand is genuinely weakening or stabilizing.
Brokers, carriers, shippers, and market analysts all gain a practical advantage from an accepted-volume view. Brokers can better gauge how much real capacity they need to mobilize, carriers can see where acceptance trends suggest equipment tightness or slack, and shippers can evaluate whether price moves reflect real demand or just tactical tendering. Analysts get a cleaner input for forecasting and for separating noise from durable trends.
Operationally, ASTVI reduces the need to reverse-engineer acceptance from multiple imperfect indicators. Instead of inferring accepted volume from a patchwork of spot rates, tender volumes, and rejection messages, teams can consult a single index that reflects what actually cleared. That makes short-term planning, contract negotiation, and capacity purchasing decisions faster and more evidence-based.
ASTVI is available now to SONAR subscribers through a pre-made dashboard, with full ticker documentation accessible in SONAR’s Knowledge Center. For organizations that already use SONAR, adding ASTVI into decision workflows is straightforward, and for new users it provides a focused, actionable lens on truckload movement. As markets shift, having a daily read on accepted volume can be the difference between reacting to noise and acting on reality.
