Dry van spot linehaul rates paid to carriers averaged $2.19 per mile last week, excluding fuel, which is 32.4 percent or $0.53 per mile above the same week in 2025, according to DAT Freight and Analytics. The reading slipped $0.02 from the prior week and still sits 21.2 percent above the nine year seasonal average of $1.80 per mile, near the top of the historical range.

Capacity is the driver behind the strength. Load posts rose 12.3 percent week over week and 22.2 percent year over year, while truck posts fell 10.0 percent on the week and now sit 31.9 percent below last year. The load to truck ratio jumped to 12.01 from 9.62 a week earlier, well above the 6.69 recorded a year ago.

The 10 dry van bellwether states posted a moves weighted outbound rate of $2.93 per mile, up 0.7 percent on the week and 37.9 percent year over year. Those states carried 35.7 percent of all US state outbound dry van loads, in line with a recent baseline near 35 percent, and the top 10 origins accounted for 87.8 percent of outbound loads moved during the week.

DAT's 35 day rate forecast puts dry van spot linehaul at $2.15 per mile in early October, inside an uncertainty band of roughly $0.08 per mile. That projection stands about $0.46 per mile above the $1.69 rate recorded near the same date a year earlier.

Source: DAT Freight and Analytics - https://www.dat.com/blog/dry-van-report-brake-safety-week-tightens-capacity-as-rates-hold-near-seasonal-highs