Rates
Dry van spot rates climb to $2.23 a mile as load-to-truck ratio nears 11
DAT says national dry van linehaul rates rose 3 cents last week and are 55 cents above a year ago. Truck posts fell 5.7% while load posts jumped 8.4%.
Canadian freight rail prices up 14.1% from a year ago in October, intermodal up 18.5%
Statistics Canada's Freight Rail Services Price Index rose 2.6% from September to 148.5. Every reported commodity group gained on the month.
U.S. Bank index: shipper freight spend up 32.1% from a year ago as volumes barely move
Spending rose 5.2% from Q2, the strongest annual gain since 2021. Shipments edged up 0.4%. In the Southwest, spend jumped 51.6% year over year.
Spot rates dip 2 cents in all three trailer types as load boards loosen
DAT's week ending October 24: van $2.24, flatbed $2.63, reefer $2.73. All three remain about 28% to 33% above a year ago.
Spot rates slip on cheaper fuel while linehaul holds firm, DAT says
DAT's Oct. 10-16 data show all-in spot rates down 2 to 4 cents a mile, almost entirely because of lower fuel surcharges, while linehaul stays about a third above last year.
Spot truckload rates hit 2025 highs in December as volumes barely move, DAT says
DAT Freight & Analytics said on Jan. 14, 2026, that weather, the holiday calendar and tight capacity lifted December spot rates far more than freight demand did.
DAT: November truckload volumes fall to 2025 low
DAT said on Dec. 19, 2025, that truckload volumes hit their lowest level of the year in November even as spot van and reefer rates edged up.
DAT: December spot volumes, rates end 2024 higher
DAT said in January 2025 that spot truckload demand and rates rose in December 2024 as the gap between spot and contract pricing kept narrowing.
Spot truckload rates rise for third straight month in June
DAT reported in July 2024 that June spot rates climbed for all three equipment types even as load volumes pulled back from May records.
Spot-contract van gap hits narrowest point since March 2022
DAT said in January 2024 that December spot rates edged up while contract van rates fell to their lowest level since February 2021.
US spot rates hold steady in November as capacity stays loose
Truckload volumes got a lift after Thanksgiving in November 2023, but load-to-truck ratios hit their lowest November level since 2015, DAT said.
US spot van, reefer rates fall for fourth straight month in April
Truckload volumes dropped in April 2023 and van and reefer load-to-truck ratios fell to levels last seen in the spring of 2020, DAT reported.
Line-haul spot rates sink to lowest in nearly 2.5 years as contract gap widens
DAT said in December 2022 that van line-haul spot rates had fallen every month of the year, while shippers turned to the spot market ahead of a possible rail strike.
Spot van and reefer rates drop sharply in April as contract rates hold at highs
DAT data released in May 2022 showed spot van rates falling 28 cents a mile in April while diesel stayed above $5 a gallon.
Truckload spot rates set records in May 2021 even as volumes dipped
DAT said reefer and flatbed spot rates topped $3 a mile for the first time in May 2021, while van rates also hit a monthly record despite a 6% drop in loads moved.
Winter storm in Texas tightens truck capacity and lifts spot rates
In February 2021, ice and power outages across Texas and much of the U.S. idled trucks and pushed dry van spot rates up about 20 cents a mile in a single week, DAT said.