US dry van spot linehaul rates averaged $2.32 per mile for the week ending July 31, 2026, down 2.4% from the prior week but still running 42.1% above year-ago levels and sitting 30% above the nine-year seasonal average of $1.78 per mile, according to DAT Freight & Analytics. The 10 dry van bellwether states, which together carried 35.4% of all US outbound dry van loads for the week, posted a combined average of $3.04 per mile, down 1.7% week over week and up 46.5% year over year.

Regionally, California led all origins at $2.68 per mile despite a 2.4% weekly decline, followed by the Ohio River region at $2.56 and the Southeast at $2.53. Florida and southern Georgia posted the steepest weekly drop among top origins, falling 7.7% to $1.75 per mile. Every one of the 10 leading origin regions eased from the prior week as summer freight volumes softened nationally.

Load posts fell 3.6% week over week, while truck posts dropped a sharper 12.5%, pushing the load-to-truck ratio up to 10.93 from 9.92 the prior week and 6.64 a year earlier, indicating capacity is leaving the market faster than freight demand. Spot rates now sit $0.07 per mile above contract rates, a reversal from the roughly 45-month stretch through November 2025 when contract carried the premium. DAT's 35-day rate forecast points to dry van spot easing further to about $2.29 per mile by early September, though the agency cautions the projection carries an uncertainty band of roughly plus or minus $0.07 per mile.

Source: DAT Freight & Analytics — https://www.dat.com/blog/dry-van-report-spot-rates-ease-as-summer-freight-demand-softens