BLOOMINGTON, Ind. —Total load posts on DAT One fell to 2.79 million last week (July 19–25), down 9% from the prior week.
“Equipment posts fell to 179,298, down 3%, as capacity pulled back more slowly than demand,” DAT Freight & Analytics said. “Spot linehaul rates eased by 6 to 8 cents per mile across all three equipment types, and higher diesel prices pushed fuel surcharges up even as linehaul rates fell. As a result, the decline in broker-to-carrier all-in rates was modest.”
7-Day Average Broker-to-Carrier Spot Rates (linehaul + fuel surcharge)
â–¼ Dry van: $2.97 per mile, down 2 cents week over week
â–¼ Refrigerated: $3.37 per mile, down 4 cents
â–¼ Flatbed: $3.58 per mile, down 4 cents
“Spot linehaul rates remain well above last year’s levels, even with last week’s declines,” said Dean Croke, industry analyst, DAT. “The dry van rate is 74 cents higher year over year, the reefer rate is 77 cents higher, and the flatbed rate is 83 cents higher compared with Week 30 of 2025.”
Diesel prices reversed course after two weeks of declines, rising 22 cents per gallon to $4.80 and pushing fuel surcharges up by 3 to 4 cents across all three equipment types (59 cents for dry van, 65 cents for reefer, and 71 cents for flatbed), according to the most recent EIA data. Surcharges remain up roughly 42% year over year.
Van: Demand Pulls Back Faster than Capacity
â–¼ Van loads: 1,243,975, down 8% week over week
â–¼ Van equipment: 121,610, down 3%
â–¼ Linehaul rate: $2.38 per mile, down 6 cents week over week
â–¼ Load-to-truck ratio: 10.2, down from 10.7 the prior week
Reefer: Peak-Season Demand Keeps Cooling
â–¼ Reefer loads: 622,177, down 13% week over week
â–¼ Reefer equipment: 34,857, down 4%
â–¼ Linehaul rate: $2.72 per mile, down 8 cents week over week
â–¼ Load-to-truck ratio: 17.8, down from 19.7 the prior week
Flatbed: Demand Slips as Capacity Holds Steadier
â–¼ Flatbed loads: 928,291, down 9% week over week
â–¼ Flatbed equipment: 22,831, down 2%
â–¼ Linehaul rate: $2.87 per mile, down 8 cents
â–¼ Load-to-truck ratio: 40.7, down from 44.1 the prior week
“Truck posts on DAT One fell across all three equipment types at once, marking the first synchronized pullback in capacity in recent weeks,” Croke said. “That shift helped keep load-to-truck ratios from dropping as steeply as load volume alone would suggest. Total load posts fell by nearly the same percentage for the second straight week, dropping 9.44% for the week of July 12 and 9.42% for the week of July 19. Whether that develops into a steady pace of decline or breaks sharply in either direction will be worth watching in the coming weeks.”
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.
