August 21st, 2025 – A new technical standard is being introduced to close a long-standing gap in less-than-truckload (LTL) visibility, offering shippers greater insight into how freight charges may change as shipments move across docks.
The preliminary freight charges application programming interface (API), released last week, arrives at a time when LTL charges are shifting due to recent changes to the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC). These revisions, which took effect on July 19, reassigned more than 2,000 products and commodities into density-based classes, potentially raising or lowering the rates shippers ultimately pay. Industry leaders see the new API as a proactive step, designed to help shippers navigate the ripple effects of these reclassifications before they lead to costly surprises.
The freight charges API is part of the broader effort by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association’s (NMFTA) Digital LTL Council to establish a full suite of digital standards for the industry. It follows earlier standards for electronic bills of lading, pickup requests, and visibility, with an in-transit visibility API also slated for release later this year. Together, these initiatives aim to create a seamless flow of data from the shipper’s dock all the way to the consignee.
One of the key challenges the standard addresses is the issue of invoices changing in transit. With more carriers deploying dimensioners and scales at their docks, shipments are frequently reweighed and reclassified mid-journey. That can result in unexpected billing adjustments that shippers often don’t discover until invoices are processed weeks later. By setting a common framework for preliminary freight charge data, the new API provides shippers and third-party logistics providers earlier visibility into potential changes, ensuring that all parties are working from the same information.
While logistics providers and carriers have already been offering some preliminary charge data, the lack of standardization has made adoption uneven. By formalizing a digital standard, the industry gains a consistent approach that reduces complexity, improves communication, and ultimately strengthens trust between shippers, carriers, and intermediaries.
