How does Drumkit Calculate Multi-Stop Rates?

DAT

Drumkit supports two methods for pricing multi-stop (Quick Quote) shipments. Understanding which method is active helps explain rate differences vs. DAT RateView.

Leg-to-Leg (default) Drumkit pulls a separate DAT rate for each leg of the route and sums them into a total. Because shorter legs carry a higher rate-per-mile, this method typically produces higher combined rates than a straight point-to-point quote — even when total mileage is unchanged.

Example: A two-stop load might yield Leg 1: $720 + Leg 2: $1,186 = $2,054 total, vs. $1,437 under the longest-leg method.

Longest-Leg Drumkit takes the total route distance, applies the rate-per-mile from the longest leg, and adds a flat fee per intermediate stop which is customizable in the quote calculator below. This produces lower rates and is better suited to routes with short intermediate legs.

Why rates may differ from DAT RateView Quick Quote does not currently use the same time-period breakdowns as DAT RateView (3-day, 6-day, 90-day, 1-year cross-market). The rate basis can differ between the two tools independent of the multi-stop methodology.

Note: When Drumkit was originally built, DAT did not offer a native multi-stop function — so Drumkit developed its own. Now that DAT does support multi-stop natively, we are evaluating whether to incorporate it.

If a rep flags that Drumkit's multi-stop rate looks high, first confirm which calculation method is active and clarify the above to the customer.

Triumph / Greenscreens

Drumkit does not support multi-stop rating for Triumph / Greenscreens.

Truckstop

Drumkit uses Truckstop's in-built multi-stop function via Rate Insights.