July 4 has always been a good weekend for freight rates, but as America's 250th birthday approaches, historically good deals are going down on the spot market.
Booming load volumes, soaring rates, and carriers off like a shot to find more drivers all point to fireworks on the load boards this week.
DAT's Trendlines report shows spot loads posted the last week of June up 12% from the previous week and a whopping 62% more than last June.
The latest report from FTR and Truckstop.com shows spot rates' broad average at $3.64/mile -- van rates at $2.99, reefer at $3.46 and flatbed at $3.83.
These numbers are slightly down from the records posted a few weeks ago, but it may still end up being more money in carriers' pockets.
Diesel's national average as of Monday posted a 16-cent drop to $4.67/gallon. That's down 97 cents from the 2026 high mark a couple months ago.
With more than 75,000 posted loads on DAT as of Monday, some brokers flat-out cannot find a truck and are getting worked by carriers in negotiations.
"I just booked up most of next week, will have it booked up today/tomorrow and it’s absolutely insane for next week," said owner-operator Ilya Denisenko. How are the rates looking?
"Extremely good" he said, adding "you get better rates and way more selection booking in advance."
Bigger fleets are feeling the heat, too.
50-some-truck GMH Trans has been thanking its lucky stars that it kept on drivers through the down market to cash in on this week's bonanza.
With plenty of freight in a carrier's market, the big question becomes how many trucks can you run, rather than how good of a price can you haggle for.
"We're seeing rates 25%-plus above peak COVID rates and they're still climbing," said Keith Brown, VP of operations at GMH. "Driver recruiters are going to replace sales teams. Gone are the days of fighting over freight, we're all going to be fighting over drivers. GMH has always made a point to go above and beyond to be a better place for drivers to work and that's more important now than ever."
Even owner-operator Joe Bielucki, a famously disciplined hauler who never chases spot market highs and always takes a cautious approach, says he's cashed in.
[Related: Holding the line: Owner-op's playbook to push back on cheap freight]
Reached for comment around the Roadcheck rates bump in May, Bielucki remained steady.
"I think the market should be careful of chasing rates. Stability always wins," he said. "Take the steady thing. I'm not raising my rates." His usual runs include a weekly fuel adjustment, and recent-history price hikes had already left him parking the truck a lot.
By mid-May Bielucki said he was hauling for "higher negotiated rates as some of the shady characters are being flushed out. Service wins the day, and legal equipment."
Checking back in on July 1, Bielucki's faith in service proved wise.
"My warehouse manager took it upon himself to sweeten our contract rates," he said. Now, he's playing clean-up as the spot market chasers abandon their contracts. "Work has been steady. I know my operating costs, and being contract is good. Other carriers have been falling off loads because they bid too low and spot rates are better now, so some loads go up for internal spot bid and I get to name my price."
Maybe Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy was right after all when he said "spot rates are going to go up" amid the crackdown on bad actors in trucking, with "great American families" benefiting from the windfall.
Perhaps the best news Bielucki shared was health-related. "120/78 blood pressure" -- that's really good -- and "106 total cholesterol," also good, he said.
Here's wishing everyone a big Fourth of July bonanza week, a happy 250th, and the best of health to enjoy it all with.
[Related: Brokers making a killing on record-high spot rates?]
