Total load posts on DAT One held roughly flat at 3.69 million last week, up 1% from the holiday-shortened prior week, while equipment posts rebounded sharply, up 16% to 204,721 as carriers returned to the road following Memorial Day.
“Despite the influx of capacity, national 7-day average broker-to-carrier spot rates rose across all three equipment types for the first time in weeks,” DAT said.
7-day average broker-to-carrier spot rates:
â–² Dry van: $2.75 per mile, up 7 cents week over week
â–² Refrigerated: $3.06 per mile, up 6 cents
â–² Flatbed: $3.30 per mile, up 4 cents
Van: Capacity returns to higher rates post-holiday
â–¼ Van loads: 1,535,871, down 4% week over week
â–² Van equipment: 145,713, up 20%
â–² Linehaul rate: $2.39 per mile, up 7 cents week over week
â–¼ Load-to-truck ratio: 10.5, down from 13.1 the prior week
Reefer: Rates rebound as produce season ramps up
â–¼ Reefer loads: 658,797, down 5% week over week
â–² Reefer equipment: 37,416, up 4%
â–² Linehaul rate: $2.69 per mile, up 6 cents
â–¼ Load-to-truck ratio: 17.6, down from 19.4
Flatbed: Yet another record weekly rate
â–² Flatbed loads: 1,495,435, up 9% week over week
â–² Flatbed equipment: 21,592, up 18%
â–² Linehaul rate: $2.93 per mile, up 4 cents
â–¼ Load-to-truck ratio: 69.3, down from 75.1
Market analysis from Dean Croke, Industry Analyst, DAT Freight & Analytics
“Truckers returned to higher spot rates: The first full week after Memorial Day usually means carriers return to the market and rates either flatten or give back some of the holiday-week gain,” Croke said. “This year, capacity returned as expected, but the rate reset didn’t happen. Spot rates rose for all three equipment types, the first time that’s happened in weeks. The weekly van linehaul rate hit another new high for 2026, rising 7 cents to $2.39 per mile.”
The flatbed run continued. Last week’s national average spot flatbed linehaul rate reached $2.93 per mile, a new all-time high and the 12th consecutive weekly increase.
“Since the run began in early March, the weekly average rate has added 62 cents per mile, putting flatbed 19 cents above the prior record set during the 2021 freight boom,” Croke added.
Reefer reversed course after a one-week pause.
“The 6-cent gain in the linehaul rate aligns with the June ramp-up in Midwest and Western produce harvests, which is now adding to the steady volume from earlier-season Southeast crops,” Croke said.
Bruce Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has lived in three states including Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia. During his nearly 20-year career, Bruce has served as managing editor and sports editor for numerous publications. He and his wife, Dana, who is also a journalist, are based in Carrollton, Georgia.
