Total spot rates hit yet another record high during the week ending May 29 following a 7.7-cents/mile average increase during the last full week of May, according to the weekly update from FTR Transportation Intelligence and Truckstop.com.
Total spot rates across segments in the Truckstop.com system averaged $3.65/mile last week.
Flatbed rates continue to be the star of the show, rising for the 22nd straight week and 27 of the last 28 weeks overall. Flatbed hit $3.77/mile, for the strongest gain in eight weeks and another all-time high. All-in flatbed rates were more than 47% higher than in the same 2025 week while rates excluding a surcharge were up nearly 44%.
Dry van rates surged more than 9 cents last week to $3.06/mile -- less than 3 cents off of the all-time record for the segment set in the final week of 2021. Van rates are up nearly 45 cents in the last four weeks.
Reefer, meanwhile, fell last week on the heels of the big run-up during International Roadcheck and surrounding weeks. Reefer spot rates were down about 10 cents/mile, but that followed a 74-cent surge over the four previous weeks.
[Related: Roadcheck rates are in with spot market on record run]
DAT Freight & Analytics tracked similar trends, reporting a 5-cent increase last week for dry van spot rates to $2.68/mile; 2 cents for flatbed to $3.26; and a slight 2-cent fall for reefer rates to $3/mile.
DAT analyst Dean Croke said the linehaul flatbed rate, excluding a fuel surcharge, set a new all-time high last week. Vans were at their top linehaul for 2026.
Reefer’s slight fall-off, Croke noted, “reflects both Memorial Day softness and the produce season’s normal mid-cycle pause between early-season Southeast harvests and the June ramp-up in the Midwest and West. Produce shipment volumes declined by 13% this past week, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, following a steady month-long climb prior to Memorial Day. Current levels are nearly on par with the same post-holiday period last year.”
Record spot rates highs come alongside a diesel price slide nationally, according to Energy Information Administration data. EIA reported the U.S.’ national average for a gallon of on-highway diesel fell 17.3 cents during the week ending June 1 to $5.35/gallon.
The decline was the fourth consecutive week for falling diesel prices, which are down 29 cents during that time.
Prices fell in all regions during the most recent week, with the biggest decline observed in the Midwest where fuel dropped by 23.1 cents.
California remains the only part of the country with average fuel prices above $6/gallon, and the state still hasn’t fallen below the $7 mark, sitting at $7.05/gal.
The cheapest diesel is in the Gulf Coast region at $4.90/gal., followed by the Lower Atlantic at $5.02.
Prices in other regions, according to EIA:
- New England -- $5.73
- Central Atlantic -- $5.69
- Midwest -- $5.39
- Rocky Mountain -- $5.33
- West Coast less California -- $5.83
ProMiles’ diesel averages during the same week fell by 11.7 cents to $5.42/gal. nationwide. According to the ProMiles Fuel Surcharge Index, the most expensive diesel can be found in California at $7.23/gal., and the cheapest in the Rocky Mountain region at $4.99/gal.
[Related: Trucking 'gold fever' brewing? Don't let rates rah-rah blur costs]
