DAT spot truckload data for June 21-27, 2026

Demand for trucks jumps; falling diesel prices keep spot rates in check

Total load posts on DAT One rose to 3.65 million last week, up 10% from the prior week, as shippers positioned freight ahead of the end of Q2 and the Independence Day holiday. Equipment posts fell 15% to 175,811, and the supply-demand imbalance pushed spot linehaul rates up by 2 to 6 cents per mile across all three equipment types.

Easing diesel prices pulled fuel surcharges down 4 to 5 cents, leaving broker-to-carrier all-in rates roughly flat:

7-day average broker-to-carrier spot rates:

▲ Dry van: $3.02 per mile, up 1 cent week over week

▲ Refrigerated: $3.39 per mile, up 2 cents

▼ Flatbed: $3.68 per mile, down 3 cents

Van: Loads surge, capacity contracts

▲ Van loads: 1,589,495, up 17% week over week

▼ Van equipment: 121,391, down 17%

▲ Linehaul rate: $2.43 per mile, up 5 cents week over week

▲ Load-to-truck ratio: 13.1, up from 9.3 the prior week

Reefer: Demand climbs, capacity tightens

▲ Reefer loads: 826,729, up 21% week over week

▼ Reefer equipment: 33,212, down 12%

▲ Linehaul rate: $2.74 per mile, up 6 cents week over week

▲ Load-to-truck ratio: 24.9, up from 18.2

Flatbed: New all-time high linehaul

▼ Flatbed loads: 1,232,686, down 3% week over week

▼ Flatbed equipment: 21,208, down 10%

▲ Linehaul rate: $2.96 per mile, up 2 cents

▲ Load-to-truck ratio: 58.1, up from 54.4

Market analysis from Dean Croke, Industry Analyst, DAT Freight & Analytics

Pre-Independence Day and end-of-quarter positioning drove a shift in the spot market last week. Shippers rushed freight into the market, sending van load posts up 17% and reefer load posts up 21%. Carriers, meanwhile, reduced their spot market activity, with van equipment posts down 17% and reefer equipment down 12%. The result was the tightest van and reefer load-to-truck ratios in months.

The capacity crunch pushed linehaul rates higher across all three equipment types. Van linehaul climbed 5 cents to $2.43 per mile, and reefer 6 cents to $2.74, both 2026 highs. Even flatbed, where load volume softened, gained 2 cents to $2.96, a new all-time high and the 15th consecutive weekly increase. Since the run began in early March, the flatbed weekly average rate has risen 65 cents per mile.

Fuel surcharges by equipment type last week: dry van 60 cents per mile, refrigerated 65 cents, and flatbed 72 cents. All three declined about 4 cents week over week as diesel prices eased, with flatbed FSC falling the most because flatbed loads burn more fuel per mile than van or reefer loads. Surcharges remain well below their spring peaks, when van FSC reached 73 cents and flatbed climbed to 88 cents.

The lower fuel surcharges muted the linehaul increases in broker-to-carrier all-in rates. Van and reefer all-in rates ticked up just 1 to 2 cents despite linehaul surging 5 to 6 cents; flatbed all-in actually slipped 3 cents as the FSC drop outpaced the linehaul gain.