PORTLAND, Ore — DAT Freight & Analytics is reporting the average spot-market rate to move dry van truckload freight rose to $3.05 a mile in October, its highest monthly average since February 2022, even as fuel costs eased slightly from September.
Reefer and flatbed spot rates held steady or shifted lower from September. All three were about 45% higher than a year earlier:
- Dry van: $3.05 a mile, up 4 cents from September and 98 cents year over year
- Reefer: $3.60, down 2 cents from September and up $1.12 year over year
- Flatbed: $3.61, unchanged from September and up $1.10 year over year
Spot rates are paid by freight brokers to truckload carriers and are negotiated as “all-in” pricing, with no fuel surcharge. From January through October, spot rates averaged $2.78 a mile for van, $3.25 for reefer, and $3.36 for flatbed, the highest for that period in DAT’s monthly records, which go back to 2010. The previous highs were set in 2022.
Contract rates paid by brokers to carriers, including fuel surcharges, rose 4 cents to $3.28 a mile for van, matching the record set in May 2022. Reefer ($3.62) and flatbed ($4.05) contract rates set records for the second and third straight months, respectively.
Linehaul Rates: Van Turns Higher
Changes in national average spot linehaul rates, which exclude an amount equal to an average fuel surcharge, were mixed:
- Dry van: $2.22 a mile, up 5 cents from September and 55 cents year over year
- Reefer: $2.69, down 1 cent from September and up 65 cents year over year
- Flatbed: $2.61, up 1 cent from September and 59 cents year over year
Spot linehaul rates remain below their 2026 highs, set in July for van ($2.39) and reefer ($2.75) and in June for flatbed ($2.94). Since July, van linehaul has fallen 17 cents while the fuel portion has risen 21 cents. Contract linehaul rates rose 5 cents to $2.45 a mile for van and to $2.71 for reefer, and 2 cents to $3.05 for flatbed.
Fuel: Diesel Eases from September’s High
The national average on-highway diesel price was about $6.25 a gallon in October, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, down from $6.29 in September but about $2.60 higher than a year earlier. DAT’s estimated average fuel surcharge fell 1 cent from record levels in September to 83 cents a mile for van, 91 cents for reefer, and $1.00 for flatbed. That’s about double the year-earlier amounts.
For a tractor and van trailer traveling 500 miles a day at 6 miles per gallon, fuel cost about $521 a day in October, compared with $310 in February.
Volume and Capacity: Higher Rates on Fewer Loads
Freight volumes changed little from September and remained below year-earlier levels, as reflected in the DAT Truckload Volume Index (TVI):
- Dry van: 254, down 1% from September and 2% year over year
- Reefer: 184, up 1% from September and down 9% year over year
- Flatbed: 298, down 1% from September and 7% year over year
“Brokers moved fewer loads than a year ago and paid carriers about a dollar a mile more to move them last month,” said Dean Croke, DAT’s principal industry analyst. “Equipment posts on DAT One are running about 22% to 26% below last year depending on the equipment type. While fuel and other operating costs are high, carriers are heading into the holiday freight season in a position to be selective and negotiate better rates.”
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe.
