Truckload spot rates hit $3.05 a mile, highest since 2022

The news

The national average dry van spot rate rose to $3.05 a mile in October, its highest monthly average since February 2022, according to DAT Freight & Analytics data. The rate was up 4 cents from September and 98 cents from a year earlier.

Contract van rates also rose 4 cents, to $3.28 a mile, matching the record set in May 2022. Reefer and flatbed contract rates also hit records.
“Brokers moved fewer loads than a year ago and paid carriers about a dollar a mile more to move them last month,” said Dean Croke, DAT's principal industry analyst.

Why it matters: Shippers are paying record contract rates, and fuel now makes up more than a quarter of what they pay on the spot market.

The details

Fuel drove most of this year’s rise, with DAT’s average van fuel surcharge at 83 cents a mile, about double a year ago. Fuel made up 83 cents of October's $3.05 van spot rate, up from 38 cents in January.

Since July, the linehaul part of the van spot rate fell 17 cents, while the fuel portion rose 21 cents.
Diesel averaged about $6.25 a gallon in October, roughly $2.60 more than a year earlier.
A truck running 500 miles a day at 6 miles a gallon would have spent about $521 a day on fuel in October, compared with $310 in February.

The higher rates come as freight volumes fall and fewer trucks look for loads. DAT’s van Truckload Volume Index fell 2% from a year earlier, while reefer volume fell 9% and flatbed fell 7%.

Equipment posts on DAT One were 22% to 26% below last year, depending on the trailer type.
Reefer spot rates averaged $3.60 a mile and flatbed $3.61, each about 45% above a year ago.

January through October was the most expensive 10-month period for spot freight in DAT's records, which go back to 2010. Van spot rates averaged $2.78 a mile over the period, surpassing the previous high set in 2022.

Reefer averaged $3.25 and flatbed $3.36 over the same months, also records.
Van spot rates rose above contract rates in June for the first time since February 2022. They fell back below contract rates in August, with the gap widening to 23 cents in October.