Roadrunner Freight API: integration guide

At a glance

Getting access

• Rate quote, BOL and Quick Pickup use the same username and password you use on the Roadrunner customer website. If you do not have one, register for a customer login on the freight.rrts.com registration page.
• Your user must be set up for online rating, and tied to an active Roadrunner account. Otherwise the rate quote service returns a SOAP fault.
• The Tracking API uses a separate Application ID and API key. Sign in to freight.rrts.com and open the Tracking tools page to retrieve them.
• For Quick Pickup, Roadrunner asks you to confirm with its help desk that any BOL files you upload come through correctly before you switch to the production system.
• The developer guides do not mention any fee for API access, rate limits or a formal approval process beyond having a customer login.

Authentication

SOAP AuthenticationHeader (rating, pickup); HTTP Basic (BOL); HMAC-SHA256 "amx" scheme (tracking).

• Rate quote and Quick Pickup (SOAP): put an AuthenticationHeader element with UserName and Password in the SOAP header, in the service namespace (https://webservices.rrts.com/ratequote/ or https://webservices.rrts.com/quickpickup/). Requests go over HTTPS.
• BOL API (REST): send your website username and password with HTTP Basic authentication (Authorization: Basic ...). Plain http is rejected with a 403.4 "SSL required" error.
• Tracking and image API: send Authorization: amx {ApplicationId}:{Signature}:{Nonce}:{Timestamp}. The scheme name is case-insensitive.
• To build the signature, concatenate the upper-cased Application ID, the upper-cased HTTP method, the URL-encoded full request URL (uppercase percent escapes such as %2F), the Unix timestamp in seconds, and a one-time nonce. HMAC-SHA256 that string with your API key and Base64-encode the result.
• The API key itself is never sent over the wire. Use a fresh nonce on every request.
• The tracking documentation states that searching by BOL or PO number, and fetching BOL, weight certificate and invoice images, requires the amx header. Send it on every tracking call unless Roadrunner confirms otherwise for your account.

Environments

Endpoints

LTL rate quote and transit time

A SOAP service that prices an LTL shipment with up to 10 class/weight lines and up to 15 accessorial service codes. The response includes a quote number, net charge, line-item charges and estimated transit days. The "WithGuar" operations always return the guaranteed-service charge alongside the standard rate.

Bill of lading, labels and pickup

One JSON POST creates a bill of lading and can optionally assign a PRO number, return a BOL PDF, print shipping labels, run a rate quote and schedule a pickup in the same call. A separate BOLAirportToAirport method exists for terminal-to-terminal forwarding, but only for customers whose tariff is set up for it.

Pickup requests (Quick Pickup)

A SOAP service for scheduling one or more pickups in a single request, with an optional BOL file per pickup. It returns the assigned terminal and a pickup number for each pickup. You can also list recent requests and void a pickup.

Shipment tracking

A GET call that accepts PRO, pickup, BOL or PO numbers without telling it which type you sent. Several values can be comma-separated in one call, and types can be mixed. The JSON response carries shipment details, dated status comments with activity codes and, when available, GPS positions.

Documents and images (POD, BOL, invoice, weight certificate)

POST a JSON array of {ImageType, ProNumber} pairs to fetch delivery receipts, bills of lading, invoices and weight certificates. Each image comes back as a Base64-encoded JPG, and one PRO can return several pages.

Example request

Ask Roadrunner for test access while developing. Check HasError in the response body rather than relying on the HTTP status alone.

Integration notes

• The BOL API flags are all off by default. If you do not set GenerateBOL, PrintLabel or QuickPickup to true, you get no PDF and no pickup number. Each flag also makes other fields required: PrintLabel needs LabelStyle, NumberOfLabels and StartingPosition; QuickPickup needs FreightReady and FreightClosed; GetRateQuote needs CustomerType.
• Quick Pickup sends requests to a test system unless ProductionSystem is true, and a test request never reaches a terminal. The response Status text says so, so log it.
• A Quick Pickup save failure can come back without a SOAP fault. In that case TerminalName starts with "ERROR - Pickup was NOT saved" and TerminalPhone is "ERROR", so check those fields on every response.
• Third-party shippers must attach a BOL file to each Quick Pickup: Base64-encoded, under 4 MB, PDF, TIFF or Word, with BOLFileName set. Pickups cannot be scheduled for weekends or Roadrunner holidays.
• In rate quotes, a NetCharge or line Charge of -1 means that part could not be rated online. With the WithGuar operations, NetCharge already includes the guaranteed charge, so subtract Guaranteed to get the standard rate; Guaranteed = 0 means the lane has no guaranteed service.
• Some accounts are rated by pallets, linear feet or cube. For those, the rate quote returns errors 99995, 99996 or 99992 unless you send PalletCount, LinearFeet or CubicFeet (0 if unknown). CubicFeet is mandatory for Hawaii.
• Limits differ between services: rate quote takes up to 10 class/weight lines and 15 service codes, while the BOL API takes up to 9 commodity lines and 5 accessorials. Send the actual freight class in ClassCode, not an FAK class. Canadian postal codes go without spaces or dashes.
• For the tracking signature, the URL is encoded with ordinary percent encoding using uppercase hex (%2F, not %2f). Do not use URL-safe Base64-style substitutions. Mixed or lowercase Application ID casing also breaks the hash.

FAQ

On FreightAPIs

Official resources

• Customer login registration: freight.rrts.com/Pages/Register.aspx
• Rate quote SOAP service: webservices.rrts.com/rating/ratequote.asmx
• Quick Pickup SOAP service: webservices.rrts.com/pickup/quickpickup.asmx

Written from Roadrunner Freight’s published API documentation and last checked 2026-10-09. FreightAPIs is not affiliated with Roadrunner Freight; endpoints and access rules can change, so confirm details in the carrier’s own documentation before going live.

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