Truckload contract rates are running well above year-ago levels as the U.S. freight market enters the fourth quarter with capacity struggling to rebuild, according to Uber Freight's Q3 Market Update and Outlook Report released in September.

National average dry van contract linehaul rates reached $2.39 per mile in July, an 18% increase from July 2025 and the largest June-to-July gain on record, the report found. Dry van spot linehaul rates averaged $2.39 per mile in July, 47% higher than a year earlier, before easing to $2.21 per mile by late August, still 35.6% above the same period last year.

Carrier tender acceptance rates improved from 76% in July to 78% in August, but remained well below the 90% to 94% range seen over the previous three years. As of September 10, the SONAR Outbound Tender Rejection Index for the United States stood at 13.45%, higher than the same period in each of the past three years.

Uber Freight estimated that more than 48,000 noncompliant drivers have exited the industry over the past year, while Class 8 truck backlogs represent roughly nine months of production. The report also found that national average diesel prices reached $5.652 per gallon during the week of August 24, the highest level of 2026 and 52.4% above the same week last year.

Uber Freight recommended that shippers use the relatively stable September and October period to secure baseline capacity and repair routing guides ahead of the traditional late-October freight peak.

Source: FreightWaves - https://www.freightwaves.com/news/uber-freight-warns-tight-capacity-could-fuel-q4-freight-rate-surge