BEAVERTON, ORE. — A record surge in diesel prices drove sharply stronger broker-posted spot rates in the Truckstop.com system during the week ending March 13.
“Spot rates for each of the three principal equipment types rose more than 10 cents during a week when dry van and refrigerated van rates typically fall,” FTR said. “Rate gains did not fully offset higher fuel costs, but only flatbed saw substantial deterioration in its rate strength versus the prior year when fuel surcharges are excluded from the calculation.”
Total Spot Loads
Total load activity increased 6.0% week over week to the highest level since June 2022. Load postings were more than 42% higher than during the same 2025 week. Volume was 7.3% above the five-year average for the week for the strongest comparison since early December.
Truck postings ticked up 1.5% and the Market Demand Index – the ratio of loads to trucks – rose further to the highest level in exactly four years.
Total Spot Rates
The total market broker-posted rate jumped 10.6 cents week over week – the largest increase since late December 2022, although the bulk of the gain clearly was to provide fuel cost recovery to carriers. Excluding a calculated fuel surcharge based on the 96.2-cent spike in the national average retail price during the week ended March 9, total spot rates fell just under 5 cents week over week.
Total rates were up a bit more than 16% versus the same 2025 week but were up about 9% excluding a calculated fuel surcharge. Although carriers operating in the spot market typically do not receive surcharges, the calculation serves as a proxy for the portion of the rate needed to offset higher fuel costs. FTR estimates that fuel costs rose about 16 cents per mile in a single week.
Spot rates for dry van and refrigerated van equipment excluding surcharges were notably more resilient last week than they were during the last one-week jump that was even remotely like the one last week – the 74.5-cent spike that, coincidentally, occurred during the same week of the year in 2022.
Rather than rise sharply as they did last week, broker-posted dry van and refrigerated spot rates fell during the comparable 2022 week. This year, dry van rates excluding surcharges were slightly higher year over year (y/y) last week than they were the week before. In 2022, however, dry van rates excluding surcharges went from down less than 1% y/y to down about 6% following the price spike. Refrigerated rates last week were not quite as resilient as dry van as the y/y change excluding surcharges was about 2 points softer than in week 9. In 2022, though, those rates went from up 2.7% y/y in week 9 to down just over 2% in week 10.
Dry Van Spot Rates
Dry van spot rates jumped 12 cents to their highest level since the final week of 2022 but were down 3.5 cents excluding fuel surcharges. Rates excluding fuel surcharges were the lowest since week 3 but were still around the highest since 2022 aside from a few spikes mostly around holidays. Dry van rates were about 29% higher than in the same 2025 week – an increase of about 10 percentage points versus week 9 – and more than 23% higher y/y excluding fuel surcharges.
While dry van spot rates were up quite sharply overall, the gains were highly concentrated with an especially large increase for loads originating in the Midwest. Elsewhere, rates increased on the West Coast and in the South Central region but declined in other regions.
Dry van loads increased 3.6% and were up more than 38% versus the same 2025 week. Volume rose in all regions except the South Central and Northeast.
Refrigerated Spot Rates
Refrigerated spot rates increased just over 10 cents but decreased slightly more than 5 cents excluding fuel surcharges. Broker-posted rates were nearly 32% higher than in the same week last year, up about 6 points from week 9. Rates were up nearly 28% y/y excluding fuel surcharges. Refrigerated rates rose the most on the West Coast and increased in all other regions except for the Midwest.
Refrigerated loads increased 6.7% and were up just under 24% versus the same 2025 week. Load volume growth was strongest on the West Coast and was up in the South Central and Mountain Central regions but down elsewhere.
Flatbed Spot Rates
Flatbed spot rates rose 10.7 cents to their highest level since August 2022, but rates excluding fuel surcharges fell nearly 5 cents. Broker-posted rates were 14% higher than in the same 2025 week – the strongest comparison since April 2022 – but rates excluding fuel surcharges were up only about 7% y/y excluding fuel surcharges. However, the prior-year comparison is tough as the increase in week 10 last year excluding surcharges was the largest of the year. Rates rose in all regions except for the Mountain Central region.
Flatbed loads rose 6.9% to the highest level since May 2022. Load postings were close to 50% higher than in the same 2025 week. Volume increased in all regions except for the Midwest and Mountain Central regions.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
