Truckload RFP Guide: How Shippers Plan a 2027 Freight Bid, Build Lane Data, Pick Carriers and Keep Capacity in a Tight Market

Why your 2027 truckload RFP matters more this year

For the last few years, a lot of shippers ran their annual freight bid the same way: send a spreadsheet to as many carriers and brokers as possible, take the lowest number on each lane, and fall back on the spot market when a carrier said no. In a loose market with plenty of trucks, that worked well enough.

The market heading into 2027 looks different. Logistics Management's State of Truckload report (Nov. 2, 2026) says roughly 89,000 carriers have left the truckload market since 2022, and that rates are firming even though demand is mixed. DAT counted 10.93 dry van loads posted for every truck in the last week of October, up from 6.37 a year earlier. We covered both in our Nov. 3 trucking news roundup. And the October Logistics Managers' Index, released Nov. 3, showed transportation capacity shrinking for an 11th straight month, while FreightWaves reported that recent truckload contract renewals are averaging about 13% higher than the contracts they replace (SONAR data). More in today's trucking news. When trucks are scarcer, a bid that only chases the lowest price can leave you with awarded lanes that carriers will not actually cover.

This guide explains how to run a truckload RFP that holds up: what to include, how to build lane data carriers can price, how to pick and score carriers, how to award lanes, and how to keep your routing guide working after the bid. It is written by Maas Logistics LLC, an asset-based dry van and reefer carrier in Melissa, Texas, on the north side of Dallas–Fort Worth. We price and haul full truckload freight across 48 states with our own trucks and drivers, so this is what we look for when a shipper's bid lands on our desk.

This is general guidance, not a rate quote or a service promise. Every lane, load and shipper is different.

What a truckload RFP is (and what it is not)

A truckload RFP, or request for proposal, is how a shipper asks carriers to price a set of lanes for a contract period, usually one year. The shipper shares lane data and requirements, carriers send back rates and capacity commitments, and the shipper awards lanes and loads them into a routing guide. The routing guide tells your team which carrier gets offered each load first, second and third.

A few terms you will see:

• Lane: an origin and destination pair, for example Dallas–Fort Worth to Atlanta, with an equipment type.
• Contract rate: the agreed price per load or per mile for the bid period, usually with a fuel surcharge on top.
• Primary and backup carriers: the first carrier offered a load on a lane, and the carriers who get it next if the primary turns it down.
• Tender acceptance: how often a carrier accepts the loads you offer at the contract rate. The opposite is a tender rejection.
• Mini-bid: a smaller bid during the year to re-price a group of lanes that are not working.

An RFP is not a guarantee. A contract rate only helps you if the carrier actually accepts your loads at that rate. That is why the rest of this guide spends as much time on capacity and fit as it does on price.

When to run your 2027 freight bid

Many shippers run annual bids in the fourth quarter or the first quarter so new rates start with the calendar year or the fiscal year. A few timing tips:

• Avoid bidding in the middle of peak season if you can. Carriers are busy covering holiday freight in November and December, and pricing teams have less time to study your lanes. If your bid must go out now, give carriers more time to respond. Our peak season freight shipping guide covers the holiday dates to plan around.
• Talk to your core carriers before the bid goes out. Ask what they are seeing on your lanes and where they want more freight. In a tightening market, an early conversation can tell you more than a spreadsheet.
• Give carriers enough time. A short response window usually gets you fewer and rougher answers. Two to three weeks for a mid-size bid is a common starting point; very large bids often run longer and in rounds.
• Set your start date with a buffer. Leave time to load awards into your system and confirm details with each carrier before the first load.

What to include in your truckload RFP

The more complete your bid package, the more accurate and honest the pricing you get back. Carriers price uncertainty, so missing information usually shows up as a higher rate or a "no bid."

Lane data carriers can price

For every lane, include:

• Origin and destination city, state and ZIP code (or the facility address).
• Equipment type: dry van or reefer, trailer length, and any special requirements.
• Annual and weekly volume, plus how much volume swings by season.
• Live load or drop trailer at both ends, and typical dwell time at each facility.
• Appointment windows, hours of operation and any weekend receiving.
• Commodity, weight and whether loads are high-value or temperature-sensitive.
• For reefer loads, the set point, continuous or cycle mode, and pre-cooling requirements.
• Multi-stop details if a lane has more than one pickup or drop.

Use your real shipment history, not a guess. If a lane only ships in spring, say so. If a weekly volume number is really "between two and six loads," give the range. Carriers who can see the real pattern can plan trucks for it.

Your requirements and terms

Spell out what you expect from carriers so everyone is pricing the same job:

• Payment terms and how invoices are submitted.
• Fuel surcharge method (which index and which schedule) so rates can be compared on line-haul alone.
• Accessorial schedule: detention, layover, extra stops, driver assist and after-hours charges.
• Tracking and communication expectations, such as location updates and how exceptions are reported. Our post on ELD data and shipper visibility explains what tracking data can and cannot tell you.
• Insurance and safety documents you require. Ask for them; do not assume.
• Whether you accept brokers on the lane, and whether brokered loads must be disclosed.

Your facilities, honestly described

Carriers talk to their drivers. If a dock is known for long waits, carriers will price that in, or pass on the lane. Be honest about dwell times, and fix the problem where you can. Our guide on how to reduce detention has practical steps that also make your freight more attractive at bid time.

How to pick carriers to invite

A bid invite list should be built on purpose, not copied from last year.

• Start with your best current carriers. Look at tender acceptance, on-time pickup and delivery, claims and how they handle problems. Reward the ones who covered you when it was hard.
• Add carriers that fit your lanes. A carrier based near your origin, or one that needs freight going your direction, can often run a lane more reliably than one that would have to send a truck empty from far away. Ask carriers where their trucks already run.
• Mix asset-based carriers and brokers on purpose. Asset-based carriers haul your freight on their own trucks with their own drivers. Brokers arrange capacity from other carriers and can add flexibility. Know which is which and price them accordingly. Here is the difference between an asset-based carrier and a freight broker.
• Vet every new carrier before you award. Check operating authority, safety records, insurance and references. Our carrier vetting checklist walks through it.
• Keep the list manageable. Inviting too many carriers spreads your volume thin and makes it harder to build real relationships on any lane.

How carriers read your bid

From the carrier side, every lane in a bid gets a few questions:

1. Do we already have trucks near this origin, or would we have to send one empty?
2. Is there a good chance of a load back from the destination, or will the truck deadhead home?
3. Is the volume steady enough to plan drivers around, or does it come and go?
4. How fast do these facilities load and unload, and will the driver lose hours waiting?
5. Does the lane fit the way our drivers want to run?

Lanes that fit a carrier's network and treat drivers well get sharper pricing and better acceptance. Lanes that force empty miles or long waits get priced for those costs. For a full breakdown of what goes into a price, read how truckload freight quotes are priced. For what to send on a single shipment outside a bid, see how to get a full truckload quote.

How to compare bids

Do not compare bids on the total number alone.

• Separate line-haul from fuel. If every carrier uses your fuel surcharge schedule, you can compare line-haul on equal terms.
• Check the capacity commitment. A low rate with a commitment of one load a week does not cover a lane that ships ten.
• Look at accessorials. A lower line-haul with higher detention or stop charges may cost more in practice.
• Weigh service history. A carrier that accepted 95% of your tenders last year at a slightly higher rate may cost you less in the end than one that rejected half and pushed loads to the spot market.
• Watch for rates that look too low. A rate far below the rest of the field may not hold up once the market tightens, and that shows up as rejections later in the year.

Contract vs spot in 2027 planning

In a loose market, some shippers save money by leaning on the spot market. In a tightening market, that can backfire. Logistics Management reported that at midsummer 2026, spot truckload rates were running about 60% above 2025 levels, while contract rates were up about 15%. Executives quoted in that report expect some shippers to lock in capacity with their truckload carriers for 2027, even at higher rates than they paid in 2026. Your mix of contract and spot freight is a business decision, but it should be a decision made on purpose, not by default.

How to award lanes

• Award to a primary and at least one backup on every key lane. Decide the order ahead of time.
• Match awards to commitments. Give each carrier the volume it said it could handle, not more.
• Award lanes in groups that make sense for the carrier. A carrier that runs DFW to Atlanta may want the freight that comes back from the Southeast as well. Balanced lanes are easier to cover.
• Tell carriers what they won, and what they did not. Clear feedback helps carriers price better next time, and it keeps the relationship good for mini-bids.
• Confirm everything in writing. Rates, fuel method, accessorials, volume, equipment and start date.

If a lane really needs a truck every day, ask whether a dedicated freight setup would work better than a standard contract lane. And if some of your shipments are not full loads, read FTL vs LTL vs partial truckload before you put them in a truckload bid.

Keep the routing guide working after the bid

The bid is the start, not the finish.

• Track tender acceptance by carrier and by lane every week. Falling acceptance is your early warning.
• Talk to carriers when a lane is failing. The fix may be a rate change, a different appointment time, or faster loading.
• Run a mini-bid when needed. If several lanes are failing, re-price them mid-year instead of waiting a full year.
• Keep paying attention to the driver's day. Fast loading, accurate appointments and good communication earn you better acceptance than almost anything else.
• Score carriers the same way all year. A simple scorecard with acceptance, on-time pickup and delivery, claims and communication makes next year's bid easier.

A simple truckload RFP checklist

• Pull 12 months of shipment history by lane, equipment and week.
• Clean the data: correct ZIP codes, real volumes, seasonal swings and facility details.
• Write down your requirements: payment terms, fuel method, accessorials, tracking, documents.
• Talk to your core carriers before the bid goes out.
• Build an invite list of carriers that fit your lanes, and vet new ones.
• Give carriers enough time to respond, and answer their questions quickly.
• Compare line-haul, capacity commitment, accessorials and service history, not just the total.
• Award a primary and a backup on every key lane, in writing.
• Track tender acceptance weekly and run mini-bids when lanes fail.
• Fix dock and detention problems before next year's bid.

Put an asset-based carrier in your 2027 bid

Maas Logistics LLC runs dry van and reefer full truckload out of Melissa, Texas and the Dallas–Fort Worth area across 48 states. We are asset-based, we never re-broker a load, and dispatch answers 24/7 at (916) 770-7323. See our full truckload service, dry van trucking and refrigerated trucking, browse our freight lanes, Dallas–Fort Worth freight shipping and Texas freight shipping, or send us your lanes and request a truckload quote.

Drivers are what make a routing guide work. If you are a CDL-A driver, our company drivers earn 50+ CPM dry van and 60+ CPM reefer, and owner-operators keep 87–90% of gross with non-forced dispatch.

FAQ