For once, we have some trucking news that does not begin with:

“Rates are down.”

“Freight is weak.”

“Good luck paying your truck note.”

Nope.

This time, spot rates are actually looking better.

And if you run dry van, the difference compared with last year is pretty serious.

Dry van linehaul spot rates are up about 66 cents per mile compared with the same time last year.

Sixty-six cents.

That may not sound like much until you multiply it by actual truck miles.

Let’s say you run 2,000 loaded miles in a week.

Two thousand miles times 66 cents equals:

$1,320.

That is potentially $1,320 more gross revenue in one week compared with running those same miles at last year’s rate level.

Now we are speaking truck driver.

Forget “market normalization.”

Forget “transportation network utilization.”

Just tell me:

How much more money?

About $1,320 on 2,000 miles.

There we go.

So Why Are Rates Going Up?

Here is the simple version.

There are fewer trucks available.

Not fewer trucks driving past you on I-75 while you are trying to merge.

I mean fewer trucks available to haul freight in the spot market.

For the week of July 26 through August 1, market data from DAT Freight & Analytics and TA Services showed freight load posts falling about 3%.

But available truck posts fell about 11%.

That is the important part.

Freight dropped a little.

Available trucks dropped a lot more.

And when there are fewer trucks fighting over the same loads, brokers suddenly remember something amazing:

The truck driver has a phone number.

Now instead of:

“Best I can do is $1.62.”

You may start hearing:

“Okay... what do you need?”

Beautiful words.

The Current Rates

For that same week, the average all-in spot rates were around:

Dry van: $2.96 per mile.

Reefer: $3.35 per mile.

Flatbed: $3.60 per mile.

And compared with the same week last year, linehaul rates were up roughly:

66 cents per mile for dry van.

68 cents for reefer.

76 cents for flatbed.

Flatbed drivers are somewhere right now polishing their chains and pretending they never complained.

Why Are Trucks Disappearing?

Several things are happening at the same time.

Some trucking companies have shut down.

Some fleets are not replacing old trucks as quickly.

There is also stricter enforcement around driver qualifications and compliance.

And brokers and shippers are becoming more careful about which carriers they use.

Put all of that together and you get a smaller pool of trucks that can actually take certain freight.

That changes the balance.

For years, there were too many trucks chasing too little freight.

That gave brokers leverage.

If you said no to a cheap load, somebody else would take it.

Sometimes before you even finished saying:

“No, I can’t haul 44,000 pounds from Atlanta to Miami for...”

CLICK.

Load gone.

But when capacity gets tighter, that changes.

The broker may still have the freight.

The difference is now he might not have twenty trucks begging for it.

Dry Van Is Getting Tighter

Dry van capacity dropped about 12% during the week covered in the data.

The dry van load-to-truck ratio climbed to about 10.9.

In plain English:

There were roughly eleven loads posted for every available truck posting in that market measurement.

More freight choices per truck generally means better negotiating power.

It does not mean every load is suddenly amazing.

You will still see disrespect.

There will always be somebody posting:

Orlando to Boston.

1,300 miles.

Two stops.

43,500 pounds.

Driver assist.

Appointment delivery.

$1,850 firm.

Because some things are eternal.

But overall, tighter truck capacity can help push rates upward.

Reefer Is Even Tighter

Reefer had an even higher load-to-truck ratio.

Around 19.4.

Reefer demand increased about 2%, while available equipment dropped around 10%.

Produce season helped tighten certain lanes, particularly freight moving out of Florida and areas near the Mexican border.

And whenever produce season gets busy, refrigerated trailers suddenly become very popular.

Yesterday:

“Can you do $2.10?”

Today:

“Sir, are you still available?”

Amazing what happens when the lettuce needs a truck.

Flatbed Is Leading the Pack

Flatbed has been especially strong because of continued demand from industries like construction, manufacturing, steel and energy.

Its average all-in spot rate reached about $3.60 per mile.

Flatbed was also the only major equipment type in the report that saw its all-in spot rate actually increase during that particular week.

So yes.

The flatbed guys currently have permission to be slightly annoying.

Slightly.

But Before We Start Ordering Chrome...

There is an important catch.

Diesel.

Because trucking can never simply give you good news.

Diesel jumped about 33 cents per gallon, reaching roughly $5.13 nationally during the period covered.

That pushed fuel surcharges higher.

And those higher fuel surcharges helped make the all-in spot rates look stronger.

In fact, actual linehaul rates slipped slightly during the latest week.

Dry van linehaul dropped about 6 cents per mile.

Reefer and flatbed also saw small linehaul declines.

So if someone tells you:

“Dry van is almost three dollars a mile nationally! We are rich again!”

Calm down.

Part of that number is fuel.

And the fuel station would like its money back immediately.

Still, The Year-Over-Year Improvement Is Real

This is the bigger point.

Even after separating out fuel, linehaul rates are still much stronger than they were a year ago.

Dry van is up around 66 cents per mile year over year.

Reefer is up 68 cents.

Flatbed is up 76 cents.

That is not a tiny change.

For example:

If a dry van carrier runs 8,000 loaded miles per month, an extra 66 cents per mile represents:

$5,280 more gross revenue per month.

Again, that does NOT automatically mean $5,280 more profit.

Fuel costs more.

Insurance still wants its money.

Maintenance still wants its money.

The truck payment definitely wants its money.

And your DEF system may be sitting somewhere plotting something.

But higher revenue per mile gives the carrier more room to breathe.

Does This Mean The Freight Recession Is Over?

Not necessarily.

Do not start financing a second truck because you heard this episode.

Freight demand itself is not exploding.

The interesting part is that truck capacity appears to be shrinking faster than demand.

That can improve rates even without a huge economic boom.

Think about it like this.

Imagine there are 100 loads and 150 trucks.

Brokers have plenty of choices.

Truckers fight each other.

Rates stink.

Now imagine there are still 100 loads...

but only 90 trucks.

Same freight.

Completely different conversation.

Now somebody’s load might not move.

And that is when the truck starts getting some negotiating power back.

The Bottom Line

The freight market is not suddenly perfect.

But something important is changing.

There appear to be fewer qualified trucks available.

And those trucks are becoming more valuable.

Dry van linehaul rates are about 66 cents per mile higher than a year ago.

Reefer is up about 68 cents.

Flatbed is up about 76 cents.

For a dry van running 2,000 loaded miles, 66 cents represents about:

$1,320 more gross revenue.

And if available truck capacity keeps shrinking while freight demand stays reasonably stable...

rates could continue getting support.

So the next time a broker tells you:

“Man, the market is terrible. That’s all I have in it.”

Maybe.

But now you have some numbers too.

And numbers negotiate better than feelings.

Market data for this story comes from DAT Freight & Analytics and TA Services for the week of July 26 through August 1, 2026. We also referenced reporting from Commercial Carrier Journal.