Rate Quote API
ArcBest® APIs allow you to access arcb.com services within your websites or customized software packages.
Step 1
Your application will gather the information needed to complete the API request and format that data as specified in the documentation.
Step 2
Your application sends the properly formatted API request to ArcBest’s servers via HTTP GET or POST. An example of a formatted URL is documented below.
Step 3
Our servers receive, validate and process the API request.
Step 4
Our servers respond with a XML document. Your application parses the XML document to extract response data. The XML response format is documented below.
Standard usage limit is 20,000 Rate Quote API requests per 24 hours.
Example API Request
https://www.abfs.com/xml/aquotexml.asp?DL=2&ID=Y20W9FG3&ShipCity=DALLAS&ShipState=TX&ShipZip=75201&ShipCountry=US&ConsCity=TULSA&ConsState=OK&ConsZip=74104&ConsCountry=US&FrtLng1=48&FrtWdth1=48&FrtHght1=48&FrtLWHType=IN&UnitNo1=3&UnitType1=PLT&Wgt1=400&Class1=50.0&ShipAff=Y&ShipMonth=06&ShipDay=25&ShipYear=2024
Note: Required variables are in Red. All other variables are optional.
| Account Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Definition |
| ID | Your arcb.com API Key: Y20W9FG3 |
| APP_ID | For TMS providers only. If you are a TMS provider, please contact api@arcb.com to obtain your App ID. |
| Shipper Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Definition |
| ShipAff | "Y" if you are the Shipper |
| ShipPay | "Y" if the Shipper is responsible for payment. |
| ShipName | Shipper company name. |
| ShipNamePlus | Shipper name plus. |
| ShipAddr | Shipper address. |
| ShipCity | Shipper city. |
| ShipState | Shipper state. |
| ShipZip | Shipper zip or postal code. |
| ShipCountry | Shipper country ("US", "CA", "MX"). |
| ShipAcct | Shipper account number. |
| Consignee Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Definition |
| ConsAff | "Y" if you are the Consignee |
| ConsPay | "Y" if the Consignee is responsible for payment. |
| ConsName | Consignee company name. |
| ConsNamePlus | Consignee name plus. |
| ConsAddr | Consignee address. |
| ConsCity | Consignee city. |
| ConsState | Consignee state. |
| ConsZip | Consignee zip or postal code. |
| ConsCountry | Consignee country ("US", "CA", "MX"). |
| ConsAcct | Consignee account number. |
| Third Party Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Definition |
| TPBAff | "Y" if you are the Third Party |
| TPBPay | "Y" if the Third Party is responsible for payment. |
| TPBName | Third Party company name. |
| TPBNamePlus | Third Party name plus. |
| TPBAddr | Third Party address. |
| TPBCity | Third Party city. |
| TPBState | Third Party state. |
| TPBZip | Third Party zip or postal code. |
| TPBCountry | Third Party country ("US", "CA", "MX"). |
| TPBAcct | Third Party account number. |
Dynamic Pricing Quotes require one type of dimensional information (per handling unit dimensions, overall shipment dimensions, or overall shipment cube).
Dimensional information parameters are in blue.
| Commodity Lines (Enter up to 15) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Definition |
| Wgt1 (to Wgt15) | Total Weight of commodity. |
| Class1 (to Class15) | Class of commodity. |
| FrtLng1 (to FrtLng15) | Length, per handling unit, in inches. Decimal inches will be rounded up to the next integer. If rounding occurred, then a NOTE element with TYPE="DIMS-ROUNDED" will indicate the original and rounded values. |
| FrtWdth1 (to FrtWdth15) | Width, per handling unit, in inches. Decimal inches will be rounded up to the next integer. If rounding occurred, then a NOTE element with TYPE="DIMS-ROUNDED" will indicate the original and rounded values. |
| FrtHght1 (to FrtHght15) | Height, per handling unit, in inches. Decimal inches will be rounded up to the next integer. If rounding occurred, then a NOTE element with TYPE="DIMS-ROUNDED" will indicate the original and rounded values. |
| UnitNo1 (to UnitNo15) | Number of Handling Units of commodity. |
| UnitType1 (to UnitType15) | Type of Handling Units of commodity. |
| NMFCItem1 (to NMFCItem15) | NMFC Item Number of commodity. |
| NMFCSub1 (to NMFCSub15) | NMFC Sub Number of commodity. |
| Shipment Specifics | |
|---|---|
| Name | Definition |
| ShipMonth | Month of shipping date. |
| ShipDay | Day of shipping date. |
| ShipYear | Year of shipping date. |
| Cube | Cubic feet of freight to be shipped. If overall dimensions are also provided, then cube will ignored in favor of dimensions. If this occurs, then a NOTE element with TYPE="CUBE-IGNORED" will indicate this. |
| FrtLng | Overall shipment length. |
| FrtWdth | Overall shipment width. |
| FrtHght | Overall shipment height. |
| FrtLWHType | Unit of measurement for dimensions / cube :
"IN" for Inches. Decimals will round up to the next integer inch. "FT" for Feet. Decimals will trigger a conversion to inches and round up to the next integer inch. "M" for Meters. Decimals will round to the next tenth of a meter. If rounding occurred, then a NOTE element with TYPE="DIMS-ROUNDED" will indicate the original and rounded values. |
| Additional Services - Pickup Options | |
|---|---|
| Name | Definition |
| Acc_GRD_PU | "Y" for Liftgate-Ground Pickup option. |
| Acc_IPU | "Y" for Inside Pickup option. |
| Acc_LAP | "Y" for Limited Access Pickup option. |
| LAPType | Type of Limited Access Pickup. Required for Acc_LAP:
"C" for Church pickup. "M" for Military Site pickup. "S" for School pickup. "U" for Mini-Storage pickup. "O" for Other type of limited access pickup. |
| Acc_RPU | "Y" for Residential Pickup option. |
| Acc_TRDSHWO | "Y" for Tradeshow Pickup option. |
| Additional Services - Delivery Options | |
|---|---|
| Name | Definition |
| Acc_CSD | "Y" for Construction Site Delivery option. |
| Acc_GRD_DEL | "Y" for Liftgate-Ground Delivery option. |
| Acc_IDEL | "Y" for Inside Delivery option. |
| Acc_LAD | "Y" for Limited Access Delivery option. |
| LADType | Type of Limited Access Delivery. Required for Acc_LAD:
"C" for Church delivery. "M" for Military Site delivery. "S" for School delivery. "U" for Mini-Storage delivery. "O" for Other type of limited access delivery. |
| Acc_RDEL | "Y" for Residential Delivery option. |
| Acc_FLATBD | "Y" for Flatbed Delivery option. |
| Acc_TRDSHWD | "Y" for Tradeshow Delivery option. |
| TRDSHWDType | Tradeshow Delivery Type. Required for Acc_TRDSHWD:
"AW" for advance warehouse delivery. "DTS" for delivery direct to trade show site. |
| Additional Services - Other Options | |
|---|---|
| Name | Definition |
| Acc_NFOT | "Y" for Do Not Stack option. FrtLng, FrtWdth and FrtHght are required. |
| Acc_ARR | "Y" for Arrival Notification option. |
| Acc_CAP | "Y" for Capacity Load option. |
| Acc_BOND | "Y" for Customs Or In-Bond Freight option. |
| Acc_ELC | "Y" for Excess Liability Coverage option. |
| DeclaredValue | Declared value of excess liability coverage (in U.S. dollars). Required for Acc_ELC. |
| DeclaredType | Declared commodity type for excess liability coverage. Required for Acc_ELC:
"N" for New. "O" for Other than new. |
| Acc_OD | "Y" for Over-Dimension option. |
| ODLongestSide | Longest side of a single piece of freight |
| Acc_SS | "Y" for Single Shipment option. |
| Acc_SEG | "Y" for Sort and Segregate / Special Handling option. |
| SegPieces | Number of Pieces to Sort and Seg. Required for Acc_SEG. |
| Acc_TRPACK | "Y" for TruckPack Shipment option. |
| TPBoxes | Number of TruckPack boxes. Required for Acc_TRPACK. |
| Acc_FRE | "Y" for Freeze Protection option. |
| Acc_SL | "Y" for Shipper Load option. |
| Acc_CUL | "Y" for Consignee Unload option. |
| Acc_HAZ | "Y" for Hazardous Shipment. |
| Acc_PALLET | "Y" for Palletized Shipment. |
| Acc_DOCKDEL | "Y" for ArcBest Origin Serving Terminal Delivery option. |
| Acc_DOCKPU | "Y" for ArcBest Destination Serving Terminal Pickup option. |
| Optional Diagnostic Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Definition |
| ClientTimeout | If your system sets a maximum time to wait for a response, then you may indicate the time here in milliseconds. For example, if your system will wait up to 5 seconds for a response, then ClientTimeout should be set to 5000. Format: integer from 1 to 999999. |
XML Response Definition
The following is the XML data-type definition returned for this Rate Quote API:
| <ABF> | ArcBest Rate Quotation Data Type Definition. | |
| <SHIP> | Shipper Information. This section will only be returned when there has been an error in the shipper's address/location information. | |
| <CITYCODEINFO> | City Code Information. | |
| <SIMILARCITIES> | Similar Cities. This section contains listings of <CITYRECORD> locations comparable to the shipper information originally entered. | |
| <CITYRECORD> | City Record. | |
| <CITY> | Possible city intended for the shipper. | |
| <STATE> | Possible state code intended for the shipper. | |
| <ZIP> | Possible zip code intended for the location of the shipper. | |
| <STATION> | The 3-digit ArcBest assigned station number. | |
| <SERVICE> | Service. | |
| </CITYRECORD> | ||
| <NUMRECORDS> | Number of City Records in <SIMILARCITIES>. | |
| <NUMUNIQUECITIES> | Number of Unique Cities in <SIMILARCITIES>. | |
| <NUMUNIQUESTATIONS> | Number of Unique Stations in <SIMILARCITIES>. | |
| </SIMILARCITIES> | ||
| <SIMILARZIPS> | Similar Zips. This section contains listings of <ZIPRECORD> locations comparable to the shipper information originally entered. | |
| <ZIPRECORD> | Zip Record. | |
| <CITY> | Possible city intended for the shipper. | |
| <STATE> | Possible state code intended for the shipper. | |
| <ZIP> | Possible zip code intended for the location of the shipper. | |
| <STATION> | The 3-digit ArcBest assigned station number. | |
| <SERVICE> | Service. | |
| </ZIPRECORD> | ||
| <NUMRECORDS> | Number of Zip Records in <SIMILARZIPS>. | |
| <NUMUNIQUEZIPS> | Number of Unique Zips in <SIMILARZIPS>. | |
| <NUMUNIQUESTATIONS> | Number of Unique Stations in <SIMILARZIPS>. | |
| </SIMILARZIPS> | ||
| <ZIPINFO> | Zip Code Information. This section shows the shipper address/location information that was originally entered. | |
| <CITY> | Originally entered city of the shipper. | |
| <STATE> | Originally entered state of the shipper. | |
| <ZIP> | Originally entered zip of the shipper. | |
| <STATION> | The 3-digit ArcBest assigned station number. | |
| <FIPS> | FIPS. | |
| </ZIPINFO> | ||
| <NUMERRORS> | Number of errors associated with shipper city code information. | |
| </CITYCODEINFO> | ||
| <ADDRESSINFO> | Address Information. This section contains listings of <ADDRESSRECORD> locations. This section will only be returned when the shipper's account location address is needed. | |
| <ADDRESSRECORD> | Address Record. | |
| <LOC> | Possible account location for the shipper. | |
| <ADDRESS> | Possible location address for the shipper. | |
| </ADDRESSRECORD> | ||
| <NUMADDRESSRECORDS> | Number of Address Records in <ADDRESSINFO>. | |
| </ADDRESSINFO> | ||
| <LOCATIONINFO> | Location Information. This section will only be returned if the origin or destination location is required. | |
| <LOCRECORD> | Location Record. | |
| <LOC> | Possible account location for the origin. | |
| <ADDRESS> | Possible location address for the origin. | |
| <CITY> | Possible location city for the origin. | |
| <STATE> | Possible location state for the origin. | |
| <ZIP> | Possible location zip for the origin. | |
| </LOCRECORD> | ||
| <NUMLOCATIONRECORDS> | Number of Location Records for the origin. | |
| </LOCATIONINFO> | ||
| </SHIP> | ||
| <CONS> | Consignee Information. The information contained within <CONS> follows the same format as that contained within <SHIP>. This section will only be returned when there has been an error in the consignee's address/location information. | |
| </CONS> | ||
| <TPB> | Third Party Information. The information contained within <TPB> follows the same format as that contained within <SHIP>. This section will only be returned when there has been an error in the third party's address/location information. | |
| </TPB> | ||
| <NUMERRORS> | Number of errors associated with quote request. NUMERRORS must be "0" to return a rate quotation. | |
| <ERROR> | Group of errors. Click here for a list of possible error codes and messages. This section will only be returned when errors were found in originally entered information. | |
| <ERRORCODE> | Code assigned to error. | |
| <ERRORMESSAGE> | Message associated with error. | |
| </ERROR> | ||
| <QUOTEID> | Confirmation Quote ID for the rate quotation. This section will only be returned when there are no errors in originally entered information. | |
| <CHARGE> | Charges for the rate quotation. This section will only be returned when there are no errors in originally entered information. | |
| <DISCOUNTPERCENTAGE> | Discount Percentage applied to the rate quotation. This section will only be returned when there are no errors in originally entered information. | |
| <ADVERTISEDTRANSIT> | Advertised Transit Time. This section will only be returned when there are no errors in originally entered information. | |
| <ADVERTISEDDUEDATE> | Advertised Due Date. This section will only be returned when there are no errors in originally entered information. | |
| <SHIPDATE> | Ship Date. This section will only be returned when there are no errors in originally entered information. | |
| <EFFECTIVEDATE> | Effective Date. This section will only be returned if applicable. | |
| <EXPIRATIONDATE> | Expiration Date. This section will only be returned if applicable. | |
| <TPDELIVERYCHARGE> | TruckPack Delivery Charge. This charge is not included in the rate quotation returned in <CHARGE> and will need to be added to <CHARGE> if applicable. This section will only be returned when there are no errors in originally entered information. | |
| <TPCHARGEPERBOX> | TruckPack Charge Per Box. This charge is not included in the rate quotation returned in <CHARGE> and will need to be added to <CHARGE> if applicable. This section will only be returned when there are no errors in originally entered information. | |
| <ORIGTERMINFO> | Origin Service Center Information. This section will only be returned when there are no errors in originally entered information. | |
| <ORIGTERMADDRESS> | Origin Service Center Address. | |
| <ORIGTERMCITY> | Origin Service Center City. | |
| <ORIGTERMSTATE> | Origin Service Center State. | |
| <ORIGTERMZIP> | Origin Service Center Zip. | |
| <ORIGTERMPHONE> | Origin Service Center Phone. | |
| <TYPE> | Service type: DIRECT, CONNECT, or MIA if served DIRECT (via marketing Partner). | |
| </ORIGTERMINFO> | ||
| <DESTTERMINFO> | Destination Service Center Information. This section will only be returned when there are no errors in originally entered information. | |
| <DESTTERMADDRESS> | Destination Service Center Address. | |
| <DESTTERMCITY> | Destination Service Center City. | |
| <DESTTERMSTATE> | Destination Service Center State. | |
| <DESTTERMZIP> | Destination Service Center Zip. | |
| <DESTTERMPHONE> | Destination Service Center Phone. | |
| <TYPE> | Service type: DIRECT, CONNECT, or MIA if served DIRECT (via marketing Partner). | |
| </DESTTERMINFO> | ||
| <INCLUDEDCHARGES> | Included Charges. These charges are included in the rate quotation returned in <CHARGE>. This section will only be returned when there are no errors in originally entered information. Note: If the ITEMIZEDCHARGES node is not empty, please refer to it instead for a complete list of itemized charges and discounts. | |
| <FUELSURCHARGE> | Fuel Surcharge. | |
| <LIFTGATEGROUNDPICKUP> | Liftgate-Ground Pickup charge. | |
| <INSIDEPICKUP> | Inside Pickup charge. | |
| <LIMITEDACCESSPICKUP> | Limited Access Pickup charge. | |
| <RESIDENTIALPICKUP> | Residential Pickup charge. | |
| <CONSTRUCTIONDELIVERY> | Construction Site Pickup charge. | |
| <LIFTGATEGROUNDDELIVERY> | Liftgate-Ground Delivery charge. | |
| <INSIDEDELIVERY> | Inside Delivery charge. | |
| <LIMITEDACCESSDELIVERY> | Limited Access Delivery charge. | |
| <RESIDENTIALDELIVERY> | Residential Delivery charge. | |
| <FLATBEDDELIVERY> | Flatbed Delivery charge. | |
| <ARRIVALNOTIFICATION> | Arrival Notification charge. | |
| <CAPACITYLOAD> | Capacity Load charge. | |
| <CUSTOMSINBONDFREIGHT> | Customs or In-Bond Freight charge. | |
| <EXCESSLIABILITY> | Excess Liability Coverage charge. | |
| <OVERDIMENSION> | Over-Dimension charge. | |
| <SINGLESHIPMENT> | Single Shipment charge. | |
| <SORTSEGREGATE> | Sort and Segregate charge. | |
| <SHIPPERLOAD> | Shipper Load charge. | |
| <CONSIGNEEUNLOAD> | Consignee Unload charge. | |
| <PALLETIZEDSHIPMENT> | Palletized Shipment charge. | |
| <HAZARDOUSSHIPMENT> | Hazardous Shipment charge. | |
| <DELIVERON> | Delivery On charge. | |
| <DELIVERBY> | Delivery By charge. | |
| <TRADESHOWPICKUP> | Tradeshow pickup charge. | |
| <TRADESHOWDELIVERY> | Tradeshow delivery charge. | |
| <CUSTOMSADMINFEE> | Customs Administration Fee. | |
| <CROSSBORDERADMINFEE> | Cross-Border Administration Fee. | |
| <NEWYORKISLANDDELIVERY> | New York Island Delivery charge. | |
| <DCDELIVERY> | Washington DC Delivery charge. | |
| <NYCMETRODELIVERY> | New York City Metro Delivery charge. | |
| <FREEZEPROTECTION> | Freeze Protection charge. | |
| <ADVANCEWAREHOUSE> | Tradeshow Delivery to advance warehouse charge. | |
| <DIRECTTOSHOW> | Tradeshow Delivery direct to show charge. | |
| </INCLUDEDCHARGES> | ||
| <GUARANTEEDOPTIONS> | Guaranteed Transit Options. This section contains listings of guaranteed transit <OPTION> available for this shipment. († see the Guaranteed options information section for more details) | |
| <NUMOPTIONS> | Number of Guaranteed Transit Options in <GUARANTEEDOPTIONS>. | |
| <OPTION> | Guaranteed Transit Option. | |
| <GUARANTEEDCHARGE> | Guaranteed Charge. | |
| <GUARANTEEDDELDATE> | Guaranteed Delivery Date. | |
| <GUARANTEEDBYTIME> | Guaranteed Delivery By Time. | |
| </OPTION> | ||
| </GUARANTEEDOPTIONS> | ||
| <ITEMIZEDCHARGES> | Complete list of itemized charges and discounts. Note: If this node is empty, please refer to the INCLUDEDCHARGES node. | |
| <ITEM | Itemized charge or discount. | |
| TYPE="{item type}" | The TYPE attribute indicates the type of the line item. Valid TYPEs are: CHARGE, DISCOUNT | |
| FOR="{reason}" | The FOR attribute provides a charge code for the item (when TYPE="CHARGE"), or the party for whom a discount was applied (when TYPE="DISCOUNT"). | |
| AMOUNT="{amount}" | The AMOUNT attribute indicates the dollar amount of the charge or discount. Discounts are denoted with a negative AMOUNT. Note: the sum of all AMOUNTs will be equal to the amount indicated in the CHARGE node. | |
| DESCRIPTION="{text}" | The DESCRIPTION attribute provides description text for the line item. | |
| RATE="{pct}" | The RATE attribute, if present, indicates the percentage rate associated with the line item. Line items without a percentage rate will not include this attribute. | |
| /> | ||
| </ITEMIZEDCHARGES> | ||
| <SHIPMENTCUBE> | Total cubic volume of the shipment. This node will be empty if no dimension or cube information was provided in the request. | |
| <ACTUAL UNIT="{unit}"> | Actual total cube of the shipment. UNIT will be either "FT" or "M". | |
| <RATED UNIT="{unit}"> | Rated cube of the shipment. UNIT will be either "FT" or "M". | |
| </SHIPMENTCUBE> | ||
| <NOTES> | Informational notes about the quote. | |
| <NOTE TYPE="{type}"> | A note. The category or topic of the note will be indicated by the TYPE attribute. | |
| </NOTES> | ||
| </ABF> |
†Guaranteed Time Critical options are valid if the Bill of Lading includes the required information below. Corresponding parameters of our Bill of Lading API are noted below.
- "Time Critical" must appear on the BOL. (Set the
TimeKeeper=Yflag.) - Delivery date and/or time is required. (See the various Time-Critical Shipment Specifics fields such as
DeliveryDateparameters.) - Write the LTL Quote ID on the BOL. (Set the
QuoteIDparameter to match the quote ID specified in the QUOTEID node.)
