A rate sheet only earns its keep when it changes what you book. This week the numbers are pulling in two directions at once: linehaul is drifting down across dry van and flatbed while reefer holds firm, and diesel just posted one of its sharpest weekly jumps of the year. That combination squeezes the carrier from both ends, and it has a specific set of consequences for how you quote, which lanes you chase, and when you hold your floor. Here is the read, and what to do with it before Monday.
The Numbers on the Board This Week
According to FleetOwner’s roundup of FTR and DAT data for the most recent reporting week:
- Dry van: DAT national linehaul averaged $2.21 per mile, down 4 cents. FTR had spot rates off just under 2 cents, the lowest level since the beginning of May, but still up roughly 36% year over year.
- Reefer: DAT linehaul held steady at $2.63 per mile. FTR showed rates up just over a cent, running about 34% above last year.
- Flatbed: DAT linehaul slipped 2 cents to $2.70 per mile. FTR had spot rates down just over 4 cents, still nearly 40% above 2025.
- Diesel: the national average climbed 19.8 cents to $5.652 per gallon for the week of August 24, per EIA data reported by Logistics Management.
Context matters on the flatbed line. The prior week flatbed dropped 8 cents — the steepest comparable weekly decline since 2008. This week’s 2-cent slide is a much softer landing after that fall, not a continuation of the crash.
Why Linehaul Falling and Diesel Rising Is the Worst Pairing
Linehaul and fuel surcharge are separate lines for a reason. When they move in the same direction, a carrier’s net stays roughly stable. When linehaul falls 4 cents while fuel rises 20 cents a gallon, the carrier is absorbing the gap unless your fuel surcharge is actually keeping pace.
Run the arithmetic on a truck getting 6.5 MPG. A 19.8-cent-per-gallon increase is roughly 3 cents per mile in additional fuel cost. That alone eats most of the 4-cent van linehaul decline — before you account for the fact that the underlying diesel market recently topped $100 per barrel for the first time, which means the surcharge tables many brokers still use may be lagging the pump.
Dry van and flatbed rates both saw normal drops, all things considered. Dry van rates are typically a little higher, but Labor Day falling later than typical this year could be the cause.
FleetOwner, Truck spot rates by equipment type show mixed trends amid rising fuel prices
That Labor Day note is the single most actionable line in this week’s data. The holiday lands on September 7 this year — later than usual — which means the pre-holiday produce and consumer-goods push that normally lifts van rates in late August has not arrived yet. It is displaced, not cancelled.
What to Do With These Numbers This Week
- Reprice your fuel surcharge before you quote anything. If your surcharge table is built off a diesel price from two weeks ago, you are quoting at a loss on every mile. Update to the current EIA national average or the applicable regional average and confirm the broker is using a current index too.
- Hold your floor on reefer. Reefer is the one segment that did not decline. Do not discount a reefer load to match a van-market narrative — the temperature-controlled market is behaving differently and your rate should reflect that.
- Book flatbed shorter, not cheaper. After an 8-cent drop followed by another 2 cents, avoid committing a flatbed to a long, low-rate run out of a strong market. Keep the truck able to reposition when the number moves.
- Plan the Labor Day week backward from September 7. Get trucks positioned into consumer-goods and grocery lanes for the first week of September rather than chasing the soft van market right now.
- Quote the total, not the linehaul. When a broker leads with a linehaul number that looks low, respond with an all-in rate that names the fuel component explicitly. It reframes the negotiation around the carrier’s actual cost.
- Check the load-to-truck ratio in your lane, not nationally. National averages hide the lanes that matter to you. Pull the ratio for the specific origin market before you accept a below-average rate on the theory that “the market is soft.”
The Year-Over-Year Number Is Your Negotiating Anchor
It is easy to look at four straight down weeks and negotiate from fear. Keep the other number in front of you: van is up about 36% year over year, reefer about 34%, and flatbed close to 40%, per FTR. This is a market pulling back from a strong run, not a market in collapse.
That distinction changes how you answer a broker who says rates are falling. Rates are falling from a high base. A carrier who accepted 2025 pricing today would be leaving a third of the revenue on the table. When you counter, say so — specifically, with the equipment type and the percentage.
What to Watch Next Week
Two things. First, whether diesel keeps climbing — another double-digit weekly increase would force a real conversation with every broker about surcharge tables, not just a mental adjustment on your side. Second, whether van volume picks up in the first days of September as the delayed pre-Labor Day push finally shows. If van linehaul is still sliding on September 4, the softness is demand, not calendar.
Update your fuel surcharge today, keep reefer priced on its own merits, and stage at least one truck for the holiday week. Those three moves cost nothing and are worth more than any forecast.
