Spot quote
A spot quote is a price for one load, or a short run of loads, offered now rather than under a standing contract.
Last updated 11 October 2026.
The shipper has freight that is not on a contract lane, or the contract carrier fell off, and they want a number today. The quote has a lane, a date, equipment, and a price that dies if they do not take it. It is not a promise to hold the rate for a year.
The broker who answers while the freight is still unawarded is the broker in the conversation. Speed matters. A wrong number, sent fast, still loses money for the length of the haul.
Build it from what you already know. What you paid to cover this lane recently, what the truck will cost today, and the margin you will actually run. A quote from a stale sheet, or from a market number that ignores your own cost, is how a desk wins freight it cannot cover. Say the assumptions in the reply: equipment, dates, and what is not included.
Spot and contract differ in the term. Spot is this load. Contract is the lane over time. They fail the same way when the price is a guess.
FreightScout prices the request from your lane cost history and drafts the reply for you to approve. It does not invent a rate your history does not support. How FreightScout prices a spot quote.
Questions people actually ask
What should a spot quote say besides the price?
Equipment, dates, and what is not included. A number with no assumptions is the one you have to walk back when the freight does not match what you thought you quoted.
Why not price a spot quote off a market average alone?
A market average ignores what you have actually paid to cover the lane. FreightScout prices from your own cost history, and you approve what goes out.