BEAVERTON, Ore. — Overall broker-posted spot rates in the Truckstop.com system rose slightly more during the week ending April 3, than they did in the previous week due mostly to refrigerated and flatbed equipment.
“The total market rate is the highest since late June 2022, both all in and excluding the portion of the rate needed to offset fuel costs,” FTR said. “However, dry van and refrigerated spot rates adjusted for fuel costs still lag levels in late December and in the wake of the late January winter storm.”
Total Spot Loads
Total load activity declined 6.4% week over week after rising to the highest level since June 2022. Volume might have softened because the week ended with Good Friday; all three principal equipment types experienced weaker volume. Load postings were close to 21% higher than during the same 2025 week. Truck postings were down 4.9% week over week, and the Market Demand Index – the ratio of loads to trucks – dipped slightly from the prior week’s level, which had been the highest since February 2022.
Total Spot Rates
The total market broker-posted rate rose 12.3 cents a mile week over week, nearly a penny more than the increase in the previous week. For a second straight week, the total rate increase was the largest ever in a week that did not fall in late December. All-in rates were close to 24% higher than in the same 2025 week, and rates were about 15% higher excluding a calculated fuel surcharge. In a rare occurrence – especially for a week not linked to a major market-moving holiday – broker-posted rates rose in all regions for all equipment types.
Although carriers operating in the spot market typically do not receive surcharges, the calculation is a proxy for the portion of the rate needed to offset higher fuel costs. However, our real-time analysis of fuel-adjusted spot rates has been hampered somewhat by the lack of clarity on fuel price moves in the latest week. The Energy Information Administration publishes its weekly benchmark figure on Tuesday mornings.
The latest data showed diesel prices rising only slightly (2.6 cents a gallon) on a nationwide basis during the week ended March 30, but it’s not at all certain that diesel prices have hit a plateau. On Thursday, April 2, U.S. crude oil closed at $111.54 – the highest price since June 28, 2022.
Also, the relative relief in price spikes during the week ended March 30 depended greatly on region. Prices fell in the Midwest and Gulf Coast while most other regions saw substantial gains – including a roughly 35-cent jump in California that produced the highest average retail diesel price ever in the state.
Dry Van Spot Rates
Dry van spot rates increased 8.9 cents after rising a little less than 11 cents in the previous week. All-in rates are at the highest level in four years while rates excluding a calculated fuel surcharge are the highest since then except for a few weeks during the December holidays and the winter weather impact in late January and early February. Broker-posted rates were up close to 34% higher than in the same week last year while rates excluding fuel surcharges were up a bit more than 24%.
Dry van loads fell 9.7% – the largest decrease in seven weeks. Volume was up nearly 27% versus the same 2025 week. Although that comparison is smaller than it has been running most of the year, timing likely is a factor because Easter – and, thus, Good Friday – was later in April in 2025.
Refrigerated Spot Rates
Refrigerated spot rates jumped 11.1 cents for the third double-digit gain in the past four weeks. The latest week’s increase pushed the all-in spot rate to its highest level since the end of 2022 except for the final week of last year. Excluding a calculated surcharge, though, rates still have not matched those around the December holidays and following the late January winter storm. Other than those outliers, refrigerated rates excluding fuel surcharges are the highest since late December 2022. All-in rates were nearly 42% higher than they were during the same 2025 week while rates excluding surcharges were up about 36%.
Refrigerated loads declined 5.7%, basically matching the prior week’s scope of decline. Volume was up 5.5% versus the same 2025 week. As with other equipment types, the timing of Good Friday likely affected volume comparisons given that it fell during a different week of the year in 2025.
Flatbed Spot Rates
Flatbed spot rates rose 12.5 cents – technically not as strong as the prior week’s increase but only by two tenths of a cent. Rates are the highest since late July 2022, both all in and excluding a surcharge. All-in rates were more than 22% higher than in the same 2025 week while rates excluding a surcharge were up 13.5%.
Flatbed loads were down 4.8% for the largest drop – and only the third of any scope – since late December. Volume was more than 22% higher than in the same 2025 week.
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.
