FreightWaves SONAR data shows national truckload tender rejections easing to about 13.8% over the past two weeks, with a wide gap between regions. The Northwest rejection rate reached 20.27% on October 8, more than triple the 6.2% recorded a year earlier and the highest of any region. The Midwest followed at 18.61%. Every other region sat between 7.6% and 13.1% and was holding flat or drifting lower.

The Northwest spent January through July with rejections between 6% and 9%, then nearly doubled in August and climbed almost every week afterward. Northwest reefer rejections have averaged 41% in October, up from about 17% in July and 16% last October, while van rejections are under 5%. Reefer tender volume is up 65% since July and 35% year over year. The timing matches the apple and potato harvests in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. USDA estimates Washington's 2026 apple crop at 176.2 million bushels, down 2% from last year, with the national crop down 7%, so crop size does not account for the increase.

The Midwest has held rejections near or above 15% since February, compared with 7.6% last October. Tender volume there is up about 10% year over year against an 8% national gain. Van rejections are near 15%, about two and a half times last year's level, and reefer rejections are near 29%, up from 15%.

In the Southeast and Southwest, shippers have turned to intermodal. Domestic intermodal volume through the Atlanta and Dallas hubs rose 15% to 20% year over year this past week, a trend that began over the summer when rejections in those regions peaked.

Source: FreightWaves - https://www.freightwaves.com/news/the-two-tightest-regions-tell-two-very-different-stories-about-the-freight-market