Build a Freight Marketplace in Weeks, Not Years

The carrier supply problem

Every freight marketplace faces the same bottleneck. You can build the slickest UI, the smartest matching algorithm, and the most elegant shipper onboarding flow. None of it matters without carrier supply. And building a carrier network from scratch takes 2 to 3 years of cold calling, rate negotiations, compliance checks, insurance verification, and integration work. Most startups run out of runway before they get enough carriers to make the marketplace useful.

Traditional load boards solved this by aggregating carrier capacity, but they pass the complexity to the shipper. Shippers still have to negotiate rates, verify carrier credentials, manage tracking across dozens of systems, and reconcile invoices manually. The next generation of freight marketplaces needs to abstract all of that away and deliver a single API call experience: post a load, get a rate, book it, track it, settle it.

That is exactly what Warp's API enables. Instead of spending years building carrier relationships, you plug into Warp's network of 20,000+ local 3rd-party carriers, 9,000+ cargo vans and box trucks, and 50+ cross dock facilities. You get carrier supply on day one. Your engineering team focuses on what makes your marketplace unique. Warp handles the freight.

What your marketplace handles vs what Warp handles

You own the experience. Warp owns the freight operations. Here is how the responsibilities split.

How to build it

Six steps from load posted to delivery confirmed. Your marketplace handles the shipper experience. Warp handles everything behind the API.

// 1. Shipper posts a load. Your backend gets rates from Warp.
const response = await fetch(
  "https://api.wearewarp.com/api/v1/freights/quote",
  {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
      "apikey": process.env.WARP_API_KEY
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      pickupDate: ["2025-04-10"],
      pickupInfo: { zipCode: "90001", city: "Los Angeles", state: "CA" },
      deliveryInfo: { zipCode: "85001", city: "Phoenix", state: "AZ" },
      listItems: [{
        name: "Pallet - Electronics",
        length: 48, width: 40, height: 48,
        sizeUnit: "in",
        totalWeight: 1200, weightUnit: "lb",
        quantity: 4, packaging: "pallet"
      }]
    })
  }
);
const { data } = await response.json();
// data.quoteId, data.totalCost, data.transitDays

// 2. Add your margin and display to the shipper.
const warpRate = data.totalCost;   // e.g. $485.00
const yourMargin = 0.15;           // 15% markup
const shipperPrice = warpRate * (1 + yourMargin); // $557.75

// Display on your marketplace:
// "LA to Phoenix | 2 days | $557.75"

// 3. Shipper books on your marketplace. You book with Warp.
const booking = await fetch(
  "https://api.wearewarp.com/api/v1/freights/booking",
  {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
      "apikey": process.env.WARP_API_KEY
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      quoteId: data.quoteId,
      pickupInfo: { /* full address and contact */ },
      deliveryInfo: { /* full address and contact */ },
      listItems: [{ /* same items from quote */ }]
    })
  }
);
const shipment = await booking.json();
// shipment.data.shipmentId, shipment.data.trackingNumber

Ready to build?

Get an API key and start quoting freight in minutes. No sales call required for sandbox access.

Real time tracking for your marketplace

Your marketplace needs live tracking to compete. Building a tracking infrastructure from scratch means integrating with dozens of carrier APIs, normalizing data formats, handling connectivity gaps, and maintaining uptime. Warp eliminates all of that with a single webhook integration.

Register a webhook URL in your Warp dashboard. As shipments move through each status, Warp pushes events directly to your endpoint: booked, arrivedAtPickup, pickupSuccessful, inRouteToDelivery, arrivedAtDelivery, delivered, and more. Each event includes timestamps, GPS coordinates, and scan data from the Warp driver app. Your marketplace gets granular, real time visibility without polling a single endpoint.

// 4. Warp pushes tracking events to your webhook endpoint.
// Register your URL in the Warp dashboard.

app.post("/webhooks/warp", (req, res) => {
  const event = req.body;

  // event.status: "pickupSuccessful", "inRouteToDelivery",
  //               "arrivedAtDelivery", "delivered", etc.
  // event.location: { city, state, lat, lng }
  // event.timestamp: ISO 8601

  // Update your marketplace UI in real time
  updateShipmentStatus(event.shipmentId, event.status);
  notifyShipper(event.shipmentId, event);

  res.sendStatus(200);
});

The Warp network

When you build on Warp, your marketplace inherits an entire freight network on day one. 20,000+ local 3rd-party carriers across the United States. 9,000+ cargo vans and box trucks for middle mile and final mile. 50+ cross dock facilities for LTL consolidation and deconsolidation. 1,500+ active lanes with daily volume.

Every carrier in the network is vetted, insured, and monitored by Our AI backbone, Orbit. Orbit handles carrier assignment, route optimization, exception management, and performance scoring. If a carrier misses a pickup window, Orbit hot swaps to a backup carrier automatically. Your marketplace gets enterprise grade reliability without building any of the operations infrastructure.

Frequently asked questions