Freight and trucking API development for consistent shipment data across partners.
We build freight integration layers for logistics operators and platforms, connecting the TMS to its partners.
Your system keeps one shipment model across direct carrier APIs, EDI and aggregators.
- 120+Projects delivered across 12 countries since 2012
- 100+Senior in-house engineers, six countries
- 5.0Unified rating across 61 client reviews on Clutch
- 2 to 4 weeksTypical time from signature to start
- ISTQBISTQB-certified QA engineers
- ISO 27001Certified security practice, audited by Quay Audit UK
01Overview
Freight API integration from quote to settlement
Freight and trucking API development starts with the first partner and transaction to connect. We define the data exchange that workstream needs within your broader logistics software development scope, including the shippers, carriers, brokers, 3PLs and customers it serves.
- Price and bookThe commercial half, before a truck is committed to a load.
- Rate and quote requests
- Load tender and acceptance
- Booking confirmations
- Track and proveShipment status and arrival records, reconciled across the incoming data sources.
- Milestone and status events
- GPS and telematics feeds
- Proof of delivery
- Settle and documentThe regulated half. A shipment record becomes paperwork with its own retention rules.
- Freight invoice and audit
- Customs and export documents
- Hours-of-service records
- Logistics delivery behind the integrationsOur four published logistics case studies include freight quote software and connected transport and warehouse systems.
02Routes
Choose a direct carrier API, EDI or an aggregator
Choose the connection route against each partner's supported interface, required coverage and operating volume.
| How you connect | Engineering responsibility | What we build |
|---|---|---|
| A direct carrier APIREST, one integration per carrier | Carrier-specific contracts and change detection | We translate each carrier into your internal shipment model and use contract tests against recorded responses to check the interface mapping.Platform development and integrationOr book a meeting |
| EDIX12 204, 990, 214, 210, or EDIFACT | Transaction-set mapping and retained interfaces | We map the transaction sets into the same shipment model and expose REST over it, so downstream systems use the internal model.Where EDI usually terminates: the ERPOr book a meeting |
| An aggregator or visibility platformA platform’s existing partner coverage | Access to rate, status and event history | Use the platform’s coverage and retain your own copy of every event. Your event history remains available when you change platforms.Owning your own event historyOr book a meeting |
| Manual entry in a partner portalA retained route for low-volume workflows | Staff effort against the cost of integration | We review transaction volume and the time spent entering portal data before recommending automation. Retain the manual route where it meets the operating need.How we scope before anyone buildsOr book a meeting |
| All three at onceDifferent partner interfaces in one freight stack | Event precedence and reconciliation across sources | We define precedence per event type and one reconciliation path, so source disagreements can be traced and replayed from the event log.How we build custom systemsOr book a meeting |
We connect carriers by direct API, EDI or an aggregator, and most operators run all three. Underneath, your system keeps its own model of a shipment, and we translate every carrier into it. Swapping a carrier is then a week of work.
Ihor PrudyvusDelivery Director, unicrew03Surfaces
The freight integration layer we build
Scope the partner connection around the freight workflow it must support, such as offering a load or returning its status.
We collect rates from carriers, dealers and your own pricing rules, and return one comparable quote your system can use.
- What it fixes
- One quote, from many carriers
Offer a load, take the acceptance or the refusal, assign it, write the status back. The same flow over REST or over an EDI 204 and 990 pair.
- What it fixes
- A load offered and accepted in software
We normalize carrier events, telematics pings and EDI status messages into one status with written precedence. Dashboards and alerts read from the same status model.
- What it fixes
- One shipment status across sources
We generate the bill of lading, proof of delivery, freight invoice and customs paperwork from the same shipment record. For customs and export documents, we scope data exchange and retention against your role and applicable requirements.
- What it fixes
- The invoice matches the load
One internal shipment model, a translator per partner and idempotent inbound events: repeated messages change shipment state once. A replayable log supports reconciliation.
- What it fixes
- Partner mappings share one shipment model
Versioned endpoints, signed webhooks, rate-limit-aware clients and documentation your customers can build against.
- What it fixes
- Documented access for your partners
Driver hours, customs documents and personal data all travel through a freight integration
Hours-of-service and ELD records reach the planner through the freight integration. EU tachograph and Mobility Package rules affect driver assignment. Customs and export declarations use shipment records with retention requirements; European e-CMR provides signed digital consignment records. Where GDPR applies, driver identities, location histories and consignee details make retention and access part of the data model.
04Stack
The stack behind our freight and logistics integration work
Our freight stack supports the integration services and the customer and dealer applications that use their data.
React
Angular
iOS
Android
- REST API
ASP.NET MVC- ASP.NET
- .NET
Java
PHP
AWS
Azure
05Delivery
How a freight integration engagement runs
We agree the partner rollout order and the checks each connection must pass. That gives the technical team and freight desk a shared basis for accepting a release.
- Inventory the partnersWe inventory each carrier, broker, aggregator, telematics provider and portal, including its current connection and any manual entry.You getA partner-by-partner map of what is connected and what is manual
- Agree the internal shape firstWe define and version one model for a shipment, a load, a stop and a status event before building the connectors. Each partner mapping targets that model.You getOne internal shipment model, written down and versioned
- One partner end to end, in productionWe connect the highest-volume partner against real traffic, with the event log, replay path and reconciliation report alongside it. We validate that end-to-end flow before committing the remaining rollout.You getOne live connector, and the harness the rest reuse
- Add partners, keep the contract testedWe add each partner as a translator with contract tests and monitoring for its data flow. Each partner degrades independently, with recovery and reconciliation scoped to the affected connection.You getPartner connectors with contract tests and independent recovery
06Proof
Freight API work behind a live-quote engine
Our Mover Technologies work connects the integration engineering to a specific freight purchase: a quote calculator combining dealer and freight-company API data.
- A live-quote engine that pulls carrier APIsThe founder of Mover Technologies describes a live-quote calculator for a beta tester in his 2017 verified Clutch review. Quotes come "by collecting data from each dealer, and also by pulling API data from freight companies", and "The system allows users to choose which freight company they want to use for transportation." He also writes: "We started working with Artelogic in 2009 and we continue to build the system." He describes work done under our former Artelogic brand.2009the year this freight client started with us
- Four logistics platforms with names on themOur adjacent logistics work includes Cloud Van Lines in Boston, Bitergo in Dortmund and MiniMoves in Chicago, alongside the Mover Technologies platform in Florida. Cloud Van Lines work included a household-move SaaS and smart-container integration. For Bitergo we rebuilt an app-store frontend and completed its backend integration over REST. MiniMoves' VP of IT writes in his 2022 review that enhancements to the order management system "increased productivity and allowed us to maintain double digit growth without a substantial increase in staffing".4published logistics case studies
- Independent of every platform you connectWe build the integration layer around the freight, telematics and visibility platforms you choose. The recommended route follows your partner requirements and operating volume, including a retained portal workflow where it fits.0freight platforms we resell or take commission on
07Case studies
Freight and logistics platforms we built
A freight quote engine and a warehouse app-store frontend call for different integration scopes. We define the interface within the platform it serves.
See all case studies- LogisticsA freight-management platform and mobile apps for a US logistics startup (Mover Technologies)
LogisticsCustom software for a US moving companyAn end-to-end SaaS platform for managing household moves and every business operation of a logistics company.Built from scratchAn end-to-end SaaS for household moves and the operations behind them
LogisticsApp Store for warehouse managementOur client Bitergo offers a collection of business apps to optimize warehouse management, scalable from start-ups to 4PL companies. The client decided to upgrade the front-end of all its applications to the latest version of Angular.Rapid increaseOf test accounts ordered by potential customers after the site launched
08Questions
Questions about freight API projects
Choose the route partner by partner; direct APIs, EDI and aggregators can coexist within the same freight integration.
- Direct carrier API: where the carrier provides a usable interface and you maintain a dedicated integration.
- EDI: where the partner requires X12 or EDIFACT transactions.
- Aggregator: where its existing coverage fits the partner connections you need.
The internal shipment model stays consistent across those routes. We also assess retained portal entry against operating volume.
We apply written precedence rules per event type and derive shipment status from the event log.
GPS pings, carrier webhooks and EDI 214 messages can arrive hours apart, out of order or twice. We retain every raw event and apply inbound updates idempotently, so a repeated message changes shipment state once.
Reconciliation explains the resulting status. Replay applies the same rules to the recorded events, so the decision remains traceable.
Carrier-specific behaviour lives in one translator per partner, with contract tests against recorded responses.
We monitor the partner connection and isolate its data flow. A changed interface is handled by updating the affected translator and test baseline; unrelated mappings stay separate. Each partner flow is designed to degrade independently.
We price freight API integration against your partner list and supported interfaces. A single documented integration and a mixed partner stack require different work.
- Time and materials: billed hourly, quoted per project.
- Fixed price: quoted per project against an agreed outcome.
- Team extension: billed monthly per team member.
We recommend the model after scoping. Fixed-scope work carries a post-launch warranty, with its length agreed in the contract. Team extension carries no recruitment or placement fee.
Most engagements start within two to four weeks of signature. Delivery duration depends on the partner interfaces and shipment workflow being connected.
The first partner establishes the internal shipment model, event log and reconciliation path that later connectors reuse. A mixed EDI and portal stack has different requirements from one supported API.
Scoping produces a phased plan with the rollout order and cost, separating the start window from delivery milestones.
For freight builds, we agree least-privilege access and credential handling with your technical contact before work starts.
Contracts and NDAs come first. Credentials stay server-side, scoped and rotated, and never reach a browser. Access is read-only wherever the work allows, with no production write access during discovery. We work inside your cloud where customers, insurers or shippers require it.
unicrew holds ISO 27001:2022 and ISO 9001:2015, audited by Quay Audit UK, and has ISTQB-certified QA engineers. Where GDPR applies, driver and consignee data makes retention and access a data-model requirement.
Plan the connections in your freight partner list
Review your partner list and the shipment workflow you want to connect with a senior engineer who has delivered freight integration work. We recommend the rollout order and engagement model.
What happens after you contact us
- We reply within one business daySend your partner list and the workflow you want to connect.
- A call about the partnersWe review the current interfaces and the data each partner must exchange.
- Route and engagement model, in writingDirect API, EDI or aggregator, per partner, priced as time and materials, fixed price, or team extension.
- NDA, then scopingMost engagements start within two to four weeks of signature.