Dry van spot linehaul rates paid to carriers averaged $2.23 per mile last week, minus fuel, up 1.3%, or $0.03 per mile, from the week before. Rates climbed 32.6%, or $0.55 per mile, year over year and held 22.9%, or $0.42 per mile, above the nine-year seasonal average of $1.81 per mile, in the upper half of the historical range.
All rates cited are linehaul only. They exclude fuel costs and surcharges unless otherwise noted.
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Bellwether states
The dry van bellwether states averaged $2.91 per mile last week, down $0.04 week over week and up $0.76, or 35.5%, year over year. The 10 states held 35.6% of national dry van outbound volume.
Regional rate trends
| Dry Van — Top 10 Origins by Rate Per Mile · Week Ending October 31, 2026 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Origin Region | Avg RPM | WoW $/mi | YoY $/mi |
| 1 | Great Lakes | $2.51 | −$0.04 | +$0.59 |
| 2 | South Central | $1.84 | −$0.03 | +$0.27 |
| 3 | Southeast | $2.01 | −$0.03 | +$0.38 |
| 4 | Upper Atlantic | $2.20 | −$0.06 | +$0.51 |
| 5 | California | $2.62 | +$0.04 | +$0.77 |
| 6 | Ohio River | $2.49 | −$0.06 | +$0.57 |
| 7 | Carolinas | $1.98 | −$0.04 | +$0.35 |
| 8 | Lower Midwest | $2.17 | −$0.01 | +$0.39 |
| 9 | Florida-So Georgia | $1.34 | −$0.04 | +$0.17 |
| 10 | Lower Atlantic | $2.15 | −$0.08 | +$0.50 |
The top 10 dry van origin regions accounted for 87.9% of outbound loads moved last week. California held up best week over week, rising $0.04 per mile to $2.62, while Lower Atlantic gave back the most, down $0.08.
Market conditions
Load posts rose 8.4% last week while truck posts fell 5.7%, and the dry van load-to-truck ratio climbed to 10.93 from 9.51 the week before last. Load posts are 26.8% above a year ago, while truck posts remain 26.1% below. The ratio sits well above the 6.37 of a year ago, when posted trucks ran 35.2% higher.
Short-term outlook
The DAT Rate Forecast projects dry van spot linehaul to edge up to $2.26 per mile 35 days out, against $2.23 last week. The Forecast Low is $2.19 per mile and the Forecast High is $2.33 per mile, a spread of $0.14, the middle spread of the three equipment types. A year ago the market sat near $1.80 per mile, so the projected level holds well above it. Retail and e-commerce restocking is the calendar pull to watch in this window: Black Friday and Cyber Monday replenishment keeps distribution centers drawing trailers through the first days of December.
