DAT offers a load board. Cargado is a marketplace for Mexico and Canada freight, and the reason to run it alongside DAT is the quote: rate benchmarks built from carrier bids on Mexico and Canada lanes, then vetted carriers to cover the lane you priced.
| DAT | Cargado | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Load board | Marketplace for Mexico and Canada freight, with rate benchmarks from carrier bids |
| Plans | Separate carrier and broker plans, plus combined plans, on its own pricing page | One value-based broker subscription, unlimited users |
| Carrier cost | Paid carrier plans | No cost to join and bid |
Keep DAT for the freight you already quote and cover well. Add Cargado when a Mexico or Canada quote is the problem, which on most desks looks like one of these:
If none of that happens on your desk, DAT alone may be enough. If it does, Cargado adds rate context and vetted carriers for those lanes.
Quoting a Laredo to Monterrey move means pricing more than a linehaul. The shipment may run through-trailer or transload at the border, it needs a customs broker, and the shipper's security requirements change by corridor. Check the rate data available for the specific lane you are quoting before you commit a number.
Cargado's Mexico benchmarks are built from bids vetted carriers placed on real freight, published by corridor as low, mid and high bands over a trailing 12-week window. Each benchmark carries a confidence score showing the strength of the underlying bid data, so a thin lane is visible before you quote it.
The carriers behind those bids are on the same marketplace. Carrier profiles show equipment and service details, and for Mexico freight that includes the crossings a carrier runs and whether it moves door-to-door or through a transload partner, so the lane you quoted can be posted to carriers that fit it.
Canada quotes carry their own inputs: the currency the carrier quotes in, fuel by the liter on the Canadian portion, customs brokerage, and a Quebec receiver who dispatches in French. A benchmark built only from U.S. domestic moves cannot include them.
Cargado's U.S. to Canada and domestic Canada benchmarks are newer than the Mexico corridors and expanding. Each available lane shows its confidence score, so you can see where the bid data is deep and where it is still thin. Canadian carriers pass the same verification and monitoring as the rest of the network, and chat translates between English, French and Spanish.
How the plans are built. DAT publishes separate carrier and broker plans on its own pricing page, with combined plans alongside them. Cargado has one model: brokers, 3PLs and forwarders pay a value-based subscription, every plan includes unlimited users, and carriers join and bid at no cost.
Who gets in. Cargado is invite-only for brokers and carriers alike. References are checked before anyone posts or bids, and integrations keep watching for authority, safety and fraud signals after signup. A broker's workspace is private: postings reach matched vetted carriers and never another broker.
What the rates are made of. Cargado's benchmarks across 1,200+ corridors are built from bids vetted carriers placed on real Mexico and Canada freight. They are available in the platform, in an Excel add-in for RFPs, and over the API into a TMS.
You can use Cargado alongside DAT. Keep DAT for the freight it already covers for you, and quote and cover Mexico and Canada freight, plus the U.S. legs feeding it, on Cargado. Cargado connects to your TMS over API, does not broker freight, does not own trucks and does not take a cut of a load.
Bring three lanes you quote today. We will check the available rate data and carrier coverage for each, including any gaps. Carrier access is at no cost.
No. DAT offers a load board. Cargado is a marketplace for Mexico and Canada freight, including the U.S. legs to and from border cities such as Dallas to Laredo. You can use Cargado alongside DAT.
Cargado broker plans are value-based and include unlimited users. Contact Cargado for a quote. Vetted carriers join and bid at no cost. DAT publishes its own carrier and broker plans on its pricing page.
Carriers complete multi-step onboarding before they can bid. Cargado checks broker references and the applicable operating-authority records, tracks CTPAT, OEA and FAST credentials on the profile, and continues monitoring after signup.
From bids vetted carriers placed on real Mexico and Canada freight, shown as low, mid and high bands over a trailing 12-week window. Each benchmark carries a confidence score showing the strength of the underlying bid data.
Yes. Cargado connects over API, including to proprietary platforms, and the TMS stays the system of record. Most desks start with Market Rates inside the quoting workflow.