Introducing SONAR Sitreps — situation reports authored by SONAR’s team of market experts and executives, giving you even more context and detailed research alongside the platform data you already rely on.
Freight data tells you what the market is doing. Today, we’re adding something it’s always needed: even more context and detailed research to help you understand what it means.
When we built SONAR, we set out to create the most precise, real-time view of freight markets available anywhere. Our indices — OTVI, OTRI, HAUL, FUELS.USA, and hundreds more — give our customers a level of signal clarity that simply doesn’t exist in other tools.
But data signals, no matter how precise, only deliver their full value when paired with the context to interpret them. The most sophisticated market participants don’t just watch the numbers move — they understand the structural forces that explain why they’re moving and what they mean for decisions right now.
That’s the gap we’re closing today.
Introducing SONAR Sitreps
SONAR Sitreps are deep, expert-authored situation reports on the macro forces reshaping freight and supply chain markets. They’re written by SONAR’s internal team of market experts and executives — analysts who work with this data every day — and are built directly into the platform so you can move from reading the thesis to examining live market data without leaving your workflow.
| “Context and expertise are what separate intelligence from noise. Sitreps give you even more of both.” |
Three Formats. One Integrated Experience.
Every Sitrep is published in three formats, each designed for a different use case:
- Live Dashboard — SONAR signals mapped to the report thesis, updating in real time as market conditions evolve
- Detailed Report — Full written analysis covering thesis, data evidence, and implications; export as PDF to share with your team
- PowerPoint Deck — Presentation-ready slides for executive briefings, customer calls, and internal strategy sessions
You’ll find Sitreps under the new Sitreps tab in the SONAR navigation. The latest report is featured prominently, and the full archive is accessible as dashboard cards — each with direct links to download the PDF and slide deck.
What’s Live Today
We’re launching with three Sitreps covering some of the most consequential macro developments in freight markets right now:
| FREIGHT US Industrials & the Iran War Premium Contrary to consensus expectations, the Iran conflict is widening the US industrial cost advantage rather than narrowing it. Natural gas divergence, manufacturing posture shifts, and what STVIF.USA and FTI.USA are confirming about the industrial freight mix. |
| FREIGHT Fuel Surcharges in US Trucking — Mechanics, Math & Market Signals The EIA-vs.-OPIS basis risk and weekly-vs.-daily cadence mismatch that creates $0.08–$0.18/mi in avoidable FSC leakage per tractor, quantified through FUELS.USA and MPG.USA data. |
| TECH AI Data Center Construction & The Freight Demand Shock The largest privately-funded infrastructure program in American history started near peak velocity — and the freight market is already in the middle of the demand wave, not preparing for it. |
This Is Just the Beginning
SONAR Sitreps will grow as a living research library. New reports will be published as significant market developments warrant — covering truckload, intermodal, rail, energy, macroeconomics, policy, and the structural forces that cross all of them.
Every report will be written by the SONAR team, grounded in our data, and available the moment it’s published to every subscriber on the platform.
We’ve always believed that the combination of precise data and genuine expertise is what gives our customers an edge. Sitreps are the fullest expression of that belief yet.
SONAR Sitreps are live now — included with every SONAR subscription at no additional cost. Log in and find them under the Sitreps tab in your navigation at https://sonar.surf/sitreps
