Trucking news and briefs for Tuesday, March 3, 2026:
- More loads, better rates on spot market last week.
- Used-truck prices stable to begin 2026.
- Female truckers get access to free cancer screenings.
Rates see continued strength after SCOTUS tariff ruling
Turns out the Supreme Court's tariff ruling wasn't exactly unqualified great news for spot rates, judging by the reports from analysts after a full week of spot market data.
Yet it wasn't bad news either, by any stretch.
Load-post volumes were up on both Truckstop.com and DAT load boards by roughly the same percentage overall, and both boards reported ongoing flatbed strength.
Here's the rates view from Truckstop.com data:
Fuel surcharge adjustment, and/or very-close attention to shifting costs at the pump for owner-operators spot negotiating, will be key to offsetting what might be quickly changing costs for a commodity (diesel of course) already on the rise throughout this year. The most recent week ending March 2 saw fuel prices rise yet again -- by 8.8 cents to a national average of $3.90, according to the Energy Information Administration. That's the highest weekly national average since May 2024.
"War in the Middle East is a significant cost-risk for carriers without fuel hedging or long-term contracts," said DAT freight analyst Dean Croke.
There was plenty evidence diesel was surging quickly by Tuesday.
[Related: 'Fill up your tank as soon as possible': Diesel prices fast on the way up]
FTR analysts noted flatbed rates have risen in 14 of the past 15 weeks and were just under 12% higher than they were in the same 2025 week for the strongest prior-year comparison since April 2022. The strongest rate increases were in the Northeast followed by the Midwest and the West Coast.
DAT analyst Croke also noted flatbed strength might be partially attributed to the data-center-construction wave. Flatbed rates just keep rising despite "tariff-driven cost inflation on steel and heavy equipment and sluggish single-family housing starts," Croke noted.
Regionally, he added, "Northern Virginia continues to dominate, with Georgia and Texas following. Ohio, Iowa, Illinois, California, Oregon, Utah, and Arizona are also seeing significant data-center construction activity."
[Related: 'Great news for spot rates'? Supreme Court strikes down Trump tariffs]
Fleets in attendance at the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association's transport symposium last echoed Croke, with data-center activity in focus during a panel of heavy-specialized owners and managers. That market's generally considered full of promise after years-long doldrums, panelists said.
"It looks to me like this is the fruit of having been resilient over some challenging years," said John Vaughan, President of Buchanan Hauling & Rigging, headquartered in Kentucky. "The opportunities that are out there are many ... and all over the place."
David Izzi, owner of New Jersey-based Izzi Trucking & Rigging, was certainly enjoying the fruits of investments made "four or five years ago," he said, in a storage yard that, now, is giving his business a leg up in attracting data-center freight contracts. In past, positioning trailers for hauling work was a job-to-job matter, but with the storage yard in place, "these things are now running nonstop" with data-center-bound freight, he said.
Storage-yard-bound, too. "The storage yard gives us an extra leg of work from the yard to the jobsites," he added.
Izzi (left) and Vaughan in conversation with SC&RA Transportation Committee chair Joanna Jungels of ATS, Inc.
For the van and reefer segments, there's a good bit to be optimistic about given recent performance, with reefer spot and contract ratess converging for the first time in years, and van getting close.
DAT's weekly Trendlines look showed the convergence really getting under way over the holiday period in December, where it's more or less remained through the most recent week.
Fuel cost pressures emerging with the Mideast war will be particularly impactful for reefer owner-operators, of course, a wild card in profit performance for the near term.
Since big January storms helped produce something of a bounce-back to rates highs for reefers, Dean Croke noted in the latest week that Mother Nature delivered other potential negatives to watch through Spring with her continuing reshaping of the "produce freight map," as he put it. "Damaged crop supply is altering seasonal freight opportunities."
California produce volumes were down 14% week-over-week and are nearly 30% lower year to date, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Croke noted, adding that the physical damage is expected to affect yields through spring and summer.
In Florida, too, fruit and vegetable produce volume is 30% lower year to date, with up to 80% of the remaining strawberry harvests and roughly 90% of the remaining blueberry crop affected by freezing temperatures, Croke and DAT noted.
[Related: Understanding fuel surcharges]
Used-truck prices increased in January
The used Class 8 truck market saw a decline in sales in January, as expected seasonally, as reports on pricing for sold trucks were mixed.
ACT Research in its monthly report noted a 3.4% decline in January from December in retail sales prices. The firm reported an average sales price of $55,308 in January. ACT also reported prices were down 3.5% year-over-year.
By contrast, J.D. Power in its February 2026 Commercial Truck Guidelines report observed a 6.5% increase in pricing compared to December’s numbers when considering retail, wholesale and auction pricing. For retail pricing alone, used-truck sales were up just 1.7% in January over December and 7.1% higher year-over-year.
Overdrive parent company Fusable’s Price Digests’ numbers were more in line for January with J.D. Power’s than ACT Research’s. All three model-year segments -- 2-, 5- and 10-year-old sleeper tractors -- saw price increases in January from December, according to Price Digests data.
Price Digests reported that 2-year-old sleeper tractor prices increased 2.4% in January from December, while 5-year-old units sold for 3.7% more, and 10-year-old units sold for 7.6% more.
As shown in the chart, 2- and 5-year-old truck prices are down slightly year-over-year from January 2025, reflecting improved buyer opportunity seen through the end of the year.
As noted 2025 Trucker of the Year finalist owner-operator Jason Shelly, headquartered in Pennsylvania, about his purchase of a 2020 Mack Anthem from the prior owner in late 2025, "in our area here in the Northeast, it looks good for acquisitions of used equipment. Prices are really coming down."
The 2020 Anthem was a relatively low-miles unit at roughly 400K, yet sold for just $20,000, he noted, less than half the average going price for five-year-old sleepers.
He speculated at the time that "guys are getting desperate and selling stuff to avoid bankruptcy," he said. Whatever the case, he called the dynamics "good for us who are in a position to make those acquisitions."
On the other hand, for older trucks, pricing appears to be holding strong or increasing -- according to Price Digests' index, 10-year-old sleepers sold for slightly more than they did a year ago.
St. Christopher Fund offering free cervical cancer screenings for female truckers
In recognition of Women’s History Month, the St. Christopher Truckers Relief Fund (SCF) has launched free cervical cancer screenings for female over-the-road (OTR) truck drivers nationwide.
The new program expands SCF’s growing list of free preventative health screenings available to professional drivers, which already includes at-home/on-the-road prostate and colon/colorectal cancer screening kits.
Female OTR drivers can request a cervical cancer screening kit directly through SCF’s website. Once a driver selects the Cervical Cancer Screening option, her information is routed directly to a St. Christopher Health & Wellness Case Manager. The case manager completes the registration process and coordinates shipment of the kit to the driver’s preferred location -- including a home address, carrier terminal or P.O. box.
Drivers complete the screening in the privacy of their own space and return it using a pre-addressed, stamped envelope. Results are delivered within 7-10 days, and if a test returns positive, the driver is offered a free Telehealth appointment for follow-up consultation.
“Access to preventative care can be incredibly challenging for women who spend weeks at a time on the road,” said Lindsey Bryan, Health & Wellness Manager at SCF. “By offering free, discreet, at-home cervical cancer screening kits, we’re removing barriers and meeting female drivers where they are. Early detection saves lives, and we want every woman in trucking to have access to that peace of mind.”
Cervical cancer is highly preventable and treatable when detected early. The American Cancer Society estimates that nearly 14,000 new cases of invasive cervical cancer are diagnosed annually in the United States. Early detection is critical. The five-year survival rate is approximately 91% when caught early but drops significantly if the disease spreads. Regular screening dramatically reduces both incidence and mortality rates.
[Related: Owner-operator's 7-step in-cab workout plan for long-term trucking]
