WillItSurvive
Logistics and supply chain companies · subsidiary of Roper Technologies (Nasdaq: ROP) · United States

DAT Freight & Analytics

dat.com ↗

Runs the dominant freight load board and rate data network for North American trucking.

Hard to displace
Assessed 23 July 2026 · Evidence as of 23 July 2026
Strong structural protection; the business model survives ai pressure.
On the recordSince 23 July 2026 · Checkable from July 23, 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Roper Q2 2026 earnings, covering DAT segment and Convoy integration progress
The call

DAT sits inside Roper's diversified machine with a data pile few can replicate, while Greenscreens and AI dispatch tools chip at the edges rather than the core.

DAT Freight & Analytics is a massive online marketplace where trucking companies find loads to haul and shippers find drivers. The company built a 30-year record of every freight deal done across North America, which helps it predict fair prices and is used to set futures contracts, so many customers rely on it by habit and rule. Rivals like Greenscreens (just bought by a financial company) now have their own data from payment records, and newer AI dispatch apps could gradually pull customers away if they build enough real freight transactions of their own to match DAT's. The next 12 to 18 months will show whether these new entrants can chip away at DAT's pricing tool and customer loyalty.

Why
01
AI pressure: Greenscreens.ai (Triumph Financial). AI pricing tools sit on top of DAT's data today, but Greenscreens uses its own payment data to attack DAT iQ analytics directly. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: None apparent. No major cloud or logistics giant is targeting DAT's core load board; Roper itself is the giant here. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.
03
What protects it. An $1 trillion-plus transaction history, 700,000+ daily loads, and a rate index used to settle freight futures.
What would change this call
Greenscreens.ai (Triumph Financial) announces named DAT iQ customer wins over next 12-18 months. Would show DAT's analytics moat eroding to a data-backed rival.
Roper's Q4 2026 earnings commentary on Convoy Platform integration margin impact. Would show whether 2025 acquisitions are dragging DAT segment profitability.
Roper Q2 2026 earnings (July 23, 2026) Network Software segment growth vs prior quarters. Would show whether DAT usage-linked revenue is recovering or weakening with freight cycle.
Key numbers
  • DAT plus Truckstop hold ~85% of load-board market (2022-09-07)
  • Roper market cap ~$35.4B (2026-07-20)
  • Network Software segment revenue ~$437M, +13.5% YoY (2026-07-20)
Named risks
  • Convoy Platform integration flagged as margin drag in Roper's early 2026 earnings commentary. Severity: medium
  • AI-native dispatch and negotiation tools disintermediating manual load matching on DAT's own platform. Severity: medium
  • Freight cycle softness with truckload volumes at 2025 lows pressuring usage-based revenue. Severity: medium
  • Antitrust or regulatory scrutiny given DAT and Truckstop's combined ~85% market concentration. Severity: low
  • Recurring litigation risk over double-brokering or fraud liability similar to dismissed OTR Solutions suit. Severity: low
Rivals, as read in July 2026
RivalDirectionEvidence
Truckstop.comcontestingCombined ~85% load-board market share with DAT holding larger slice, as of 2022-09-07
Greenscreens.ai (Triumph Financial)gaining onAcquired for $160M Feb 2025, uses proprietary payment/audit data to challenge DAT iQ
AI-native dispatch tools (Numeo, TruckSmarter, Datatruck)contestingOperate as layers atop DAT's load board data, per 2026-03-23 analysis
Uber FreightcontestingScaled into top-tier managed transportation post Transplace deal (vendor-claimed, 2026-03-20)
C.H. Robinson and XPOcontestingInternalize freight matching rather than use neutral load boards, per 2026-04-05 market report
Questions people ask
Is DAT Freight & Analytics profitable?
DAT does not report standalone financials as a Roper Technologies subsidiary. Parent Roper reported Q1 2026 revenue of $2.1B, up 11% YoY, and raised full-year adjusted DEPS guidance to $21.80-$22.05 as of 2026-07-21, indicating group-level profitability that includes DAT.
Who owns DAT Freight & Analytics?
DAT is a wholly owned business unit of Roper Technologies (Nasdaq: ROP), which had a market cap of approximately $35.4B as of 2026-07-20. Roper has controlled DAT since acquiring parent company TransCore in 2004, per DAT's own company history page.
Could AI replace DAT's load board?
AI-native dispatch tools like Numeo, TruckSmarter, and Datatruck already operate as layers atop DAT's data as of 2026-03-23, automating load search and negotiation, but they run on DAT's underlying $1 trillion-plus transaction database rather than replacing it outright.
Who is DAT's biggest competitor?
Truckstop.com is DAT's closest direct rival; together they held roughly 85% of the North American load-board market as of September 2022, with DAT holding the larger share. Greenscreens.ai, now owned by Triumph Financial since Feb 2025, targets DAT's iQ analytics specifically.
Did DAT acquire Convoy?
Yes. DAT agreed to acquire the Convoy Platform from Flexport for approximately $250 million on July 28, 2025. Flexport itself had bought Convoy's original assets for only about $16 million back in October 2023.
What is DAT iQ's Ratecast AI feature?
Ratecast is DAT's AI-based rate forecasting tool inside RateView. Per DAT's own blog dated 2026-06-03, it reports greater than 95% accuracy across 7 million daily predictions for 8-day to 52-week freight rate forecasts (vendor-claimed).
Timeline
  • 2025-12-18DAT reports November 2025 truckload volumes at year's lowest levels
  • 2025-12-10DAT publishes 2026 Freight Focus report, frames AI as reshaping industry operations
  • 2025-11-20DAT named Representative Vendor in Gartner 2025 benchmarking market guide
  • 2025-09-16DAT One adds cargo van, box truck, power-only load categories
  • 2025-07-28DAT agrees to acquire Convoy Platform from Flexport for about $250M
  • 2025-06OTR Solutions voluntarily dismisses lawsuit against DAT
  • 2025-05DAT acquires Outgo Inc, a freight payments and factoring company
  • 2025-02-26Triumph Financial acquires Greenscreens.ai for $160M, targeting DAT iQ
  • 2024-12DAT acquires Trucker Tools LLC for load visibility and automated booking
  • 2014-02DAT splits from TransCore, becomes DAT Solutions under Roper
Revision history
23 July 2026
First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
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