Dry Van Spot Rates Hit $2.27, Up 48% Year-Over-Year

Why did spot rates jump across all three equipment types last week?

Dry van spot rates climbed 13 cents last week to average $2.27 per mile linehaul, up 48% compared to the same week last year. Refrigerated rates rose almost 6 cents, reaching 48% above year-ago levels. Flatbed posted the largest gain at nearly 8 cents, hitting a new record and sitting 45% higher than last May.

The gains came even as dry van load volumes dropped 3.2% following the surge during International Roadcheck earlier this month. Refrigerated loads fell harder, down 11.4% for the week. Flatbed bucked the trend, with volumes climbing 2.7% to their highest level since May 2022.

What the numbers mean for settlement statements

DAT's national linehaul figures show dry van at $2.27 per mile, reefer at $2.65, and flatbed at $2.87. Those are the rates before fuel surcharge. For a dry van owner-operator running 2,500 loaded miles in a week, the 13-cent jump translates to $325 more in gross revenue compared to the prior week. The 48% year-over-year gain means that same 2,500-mile week pays roughly $1,850 more than it did in late May 2025.

Flatbed's 8-cent weekly climb and new record mark the segment's strongest performance in four years. At $2.87 per mile, a flatbed hauler running the same 2,500 loaded miles grosses $7,175 before fuel, compared to $6,475 two weeks ago. The 45% year-over-year increase puts current rates $1,980 above last May's levels for that same weekly mileage.

Refrigerated rates at $2.65 per mile dropped 3 cents from the prior week according to DAT, even as FTR reported a 6-cent gain. The discrepancy likely reflects different lane mixes in each dataset. Either way, reefer remains 48% above year-ago levels, meaning a 2,500-mile week pays roughly $1,700 more than it did last May.

Volume drops don't match the rate story

Dry van and reefer loads both fell last week, down 3.2% and 11.4% respectively, yet rates climbed in both segments. That pattern points to capacity tightening faster than demand is softening. When fewer trucks chase fewer loads but rates still rise, it means the truck count dropped harder than the freight count.

Flatbed's 2.7% volume gain to the highest level since May 2022 suggests construction and manufacturing freight is holding stronger than consumer goods. The segment's record rate at $2.87 per mile reflects both the volume increase and a structural shortage of flatbed capacity that has persisted since the pandemic.

How long the rate surge holds

The 48% year-over-year gains in dry van and reefer represent the largest annual increases since the 2021 freight boom. Flatbed's 45% gain is nearly as steep. Those comparisons matter because May 2025 marked the bottom of the freight recession, when spot rates had fallen for 18 consecutive months and thousands of carriers had exited the market.

The current rate environment reflects that capacity reduction. Dry van spot rates at $2.27 per mile are still below the $2.50 to $3.00 range that prevailed in 2021, but they have climbed steadily since bottoming out last spring. Spot rates hit multiyear highs earlier this month, and last week's gains pushed them higher still.

Whether rates hold depends on whether capacity stays tight. The 11.4% drop in reefer loads suggests produce season demand may be peaking, which could ease pressure on that segment. Dry van's 3.2% volume decline following the Roadcheck spike indicates the enforcement-driven capacity crunch is unwinding. Flatbed's volume gain and record rate suggest that segment has room to run.

What a 5-truck fleet should watch

For small fleets, the 13-cent weekly gain in dry van and 8-cent gain in flatbed are the numbers that matter. Those are the per-mile increases showing up on rate confirmations this week compared to last. The 48% year-over-year comparison is context, not cash, but it signals how much the market has shifted in 12 months.

The volume drops in dry van and reefer mean brokers have fewer loads to cover, which should give carriers more negotiating room on the loads that do post. The flatbed volume gain means more freight is moving, but the record rate suggests capacity is still the constraint.

Fuel remains the wildcard. The linehaul rates reported by DAT and FTR exclude fuel surcharge, so a 5-truck fleet needs to track both the per-mile rate and the fuel surcharge separately. A 13-cent rate gain can disappear quickly if diesel climbs 20 cents per gallon in the same week.

The bill for a 10-truck fleet

A 10-truck dry van fleet running 25,000 loaded miles per week at $2.27 per mile linehaul grosses $56,750 before fuel surcharge. That same fleet running the same miles at last week's rate of $2.14 per mile would have grossed $53,500. The 13-cent gain is worth $3,250 per week, or $169,000 annualized if it holds.

The 48% year-over-year gain is larger. At last May's rate of roughly $1.53 per mile, that 25,000-mile week would have grossed $38,250. The current $2.27 rate represents $18,500 more per week, or $962,000 annualized. Those are the stakes of the capacity reduction that has played out over the past year.

For a 10-truck flatbed fleet, the numbers are steeper. At $2.87 per mile on 25,000 loaded miles, weekly linehaul revenue hits $71,750. Last week's rate of $2.79 would have yielded $69,750, so the 8-cent gain is worth $2,000 per week. The 45% year-over-year gain from roughly $1.98 per mile last May represents $22,250 more per week, or $1.16 million annualized.