Prices the lane, selects carriers, and waits for your approval before sending a thing.
The Rating & Routing Agent applies contract rates, spot-market floors, fuel surcharges, and accessorial schedules. It selects the top 3 qualified carriers and prepares a rate confirmation draft. It sends the rate confirmation only after a human approves it.
Trigger
New load record in needs_rating state
Human approval required
Yes — rate confirmation is never sent automaticallyHands off to
Shipment Events Agent via load_dispatched event
A rate confirmation is a financial commitment. It goes out only after a human approves it.
The agent prepares the complete draft — rate, carrier, accessorials, instructions — and places it in the dispatcher queue. The dispatcher reviews the rate breakdown, selects a carrier from the top 3 options, and clicks approve. The confirmation is sent only at that point.
No rate confirmation, carrier tender, or shipper commitment leaves the platform without a human approval step. This is not configurable — it is a fixed constraint of the agent.
What the Rating & Routing Agent does
Applies all pricing logic, filters your carrier network, and produces a complete draft — ready for one-click approval from the dispatcher who knows the lane.
Contract rate table application
The agent looks up existing contract rates for the origin-destination lane by shipper, equipment type, and service level. Contract rates take precedence over spot market when within validity window.
Spot-market floor pricing
When no contract rate applies, the agent queries current DAT and Truckstop market rates for the lane. A configurable margin floor prevents the brokerage from pricing below cost on volatile lanes.
Fuel surcharge calculation
Current DOE fuel index is applied against the carrier pay rate using the configured FSC schedule — either mileage-based or percentage-of-linehaul. The shipper rate and carrier pay are computed separately.
Accessorial schedule validation
Liftgate, inside delivery, residential delivery, hazmat, team service, and other accessorials in the load record are matched against the shipper's accessorial tariff and added to the rate.
Carrier qualification and selection
The agent filters the preferred carrier list by lane coverage, equipment type, safety rating, insurance status, and capacity availability. The top 3 qualified carriers are ranked and included in the draft.
Rate confirmation draft
A complete rate confirmation document is generated with all pricing fields, accessorial charges, carrier contact information, and pickup and delivery instructions. The draft goes to the dispatcher review queue — not to the carrier.
From load record to approved rate confirmation
Every pricing decision is documented with the rate source, the market data used, and the dispatcher who approved it. Full audit trail, start to finish.
Load needs rating event arrives
The Quote Intake Agent emits a load_needs_rating event. The Rating & Routing Agent picks it up from the load record and begins pricing immediately.
Rate logic is applied
Contract rates are checked first. If none apply, spot-market data is pulled and the margin floor is enforced. Fuel surcharge and all accessorials in the load record are calculated and added.
Carrier list is filtered
Carriers are filtered by lane, equipment type, safety rating, certificate of insurance status, and current availability. The top 3 ranked carriers are attached to the rate confirmation draft.
Draft enters the approval queue
The complete rate confirmation draft — with carrier options, pricing breakdown, and load details — appears in the dispatcher's approval queue. No communication has gone to the carrier or shipper yet.
Human approves the rate
The dispatcher reviews the rate, selects a carrier, and approves the confirmation. Only at this point does the agent send the rate confirmation. This is the most critical human-approval gate in the system.
Handoff to Shipment Events
After the approved confirmation is sent, the load moves to the dispatched state. The Shipment Events Agent begins tracking position, ETA, and load state from this point forward.