Truckload spot rates eased during the week ending July 10 following the U.S. Independence Day holiday, but new data from DAT Freight & Analytics and Truckstop.com suggest the freight market remains fundamentally stronger than it was a year ago, with tightening capacity continuing to give carriers greater pricing power.
DAT reported that June marked a significant milestone in the market’s recovery, with the national average dry van spot rate surpassing the contract rate for the first time since February 2022.
According to DAT, truckload rates climbed much faster than freight volumes during June, indicating tighter truck capacity rather than stronger freight demand. Dry van volumes increased 11% from May, refrigerated volumes rose 5%, and flatbed freight climbed 12%, but year-over-year volumes were flat to lower across all three segments.
Meanwhile, spot linehaul rates increased at least 39% year over year for van, refrigerated, and flatbed freight.
The average dry van spot rate increased 11 cents from May to $3 per mile, while refrigerated rates reached $3.39 per mile. Flatbed spot rates climbed to a record $3.69 per mile, with flatbed linehaul rates also setting a record at $2.94 per mile.
“The difference between spot and contract rates has narrowed steadily for more than a year, and carriers are gaining pricing power across the board,” said Dean Croke, DAT industry analyst. “Van spot beating contract for the first time in four years, and flatbed hitting an all-time high in the same month, shows real capacity pressure. If demand were driving this, volumes would be climbing too, and they’re not.”
Truckstop’s weekly data shows the market cooled somewhat after the holiday week, with spot rates falling across all major equipment types. Refrigerated rates dropped 7%, dry van rates declined 4.5%, flatbed rates slipped 3.8%, and specialized freight fell 1.4%.
The flatbed decline was the second-largest weekly drop recorded since 2008, surpassed only by the market collapse in April 2020.
Despite those declines, rates remain 40% to 50% higher than a year ago. Truckstop noted the year-over-year gap widened further during the latest week, suggesting the market’s strength extends beyond a temporary holiday surge.
Load availability also rebounded sharply after the shortened holiday week. Load postings increased 24.7%, while truck postings fell another 2.6%, pushing Truckstop’s Market Demand Index (MDI) up 37.1 points to 169.7, its strongest reading in four weeks and 77.6% higher than the same week last year.
By equipment type, the dry van MDI climbed to 316.6, up 119% year over year, while refrigerated reached 337.0 and flatbed rose to 231.9, increases of 72.3% and 104.9%, respectively.
Truckstop’s weekly average dry van rate settled at $2.97 per mile, refrigerated freight averaged $3.45, and flatbed averaged $3.67. Although each declined from the previous week, all remained well above year-ago levels, with flatbed rates up 45.2%, dry van up 36%, and refrigerated freight up 29.5%.
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