Flatbed spot linehaul paid to carriers averaged $2.60 per mile in the week reported by DAT Freight & Analytics on Sept. 21, excluding fuel, down 0.5% or $0.01 per mile from the week before. Rates climbed 29.2% or $0.59 per mile year over year and held 24.6% or $0.51 per mile above the nine-year seasonal average of $2.09 per mile.

Flatbed's bellwether states delivered a moves-weighted outbound rate of $3.25 per mile, up 1.9% or $0.06 on the week and 29.3% or $0.74 above a year ago. Those states handled 51.4% of national outbound flatbed loads, within their usual 51% to 53% range.

The top 10 flatbed origins carried 87.0% of loads moved. Florida-So Georgia led weekly gains, climbing 4.0% or $0.09 per mile to $2.31, while Southeast and Ohio River tied at $3.20, each up more than 2%. All 10 markets held 20% to 43% above their year-ago rates.

Flatbed load posts rose 25.1% week over week and 18.8% year over year, about 11.4% above the pre-Labor Day August pace. Equipment posts rose 14.8% on the week and sat 24.0% below a year ago. The load-to-truck ratio reached 40.47, the tightest of the three equipment types.

Load post volumes tracked 16% above the 2025 weekly average and 39% above the long-term average for Week 38.

The 35-day DAT Rate Forecast has flatbed spot near $2.55 per mile by late October, with a confidence band of about plus or minus $0.07 per mile. The actual rate near this date last year was $2.05 per mile.

Source: DAT Freight & Analytics - https://www.dat.com/blog/flatbed-report-housings-pipeline-is-softening-and-the-fed-isnt-why