Reefer spot linehaul rates paid to carriers averaged $2.77 per mile last week, minus fuel, up 3.3%, or $0.09 per mile, from the week before. Rates climbed 34.0%, or $0.70 per mile, year over year and held 28.1%, or $0.60 per mile, above the nine-year seasonal average of $2.17 per mile, near the top 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 reefer bellwether roster averaged $3.59 per mile, up $0.02 per mile week over week and up $0.90 per mile, or 33.3%, year over year. The ten states held 41.1% of national reefer outbound volume.
Regional rate trends
| Reefer — Top 10 Origins by Rate Per Mile · Week Ending November 6, 2026 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Origin Region | Avg RPM | WoW ($/mi) | YoY ($/mi) |
| 1 | Great Lakes | $3.30 | +$0.03 | +$0.82 |
| 2 | South Central | $2.14 | $0.00 | +$0.26 |
| 3 | California | $2.91 | +$0.15 | +$0.81 |
| 4 | Upper Atlantic | $2.61 | -$0.08 | +$0.63 |
| 5 | Southeast | $2.41 | +$0.07 | +$0.46 |
| 6 | Lower Mountain | $2.51 | +$0.13 | +$0.47 |
| 7 | Ohio River | $3.19 | +$0.09 | +$0.83 |
| 8 | Upper Midwest | $3.56 | +$0.12 | +$0.91 |
| 9 | Lower Midwest | $3.19 | +$0.09 | +$0.67 |
| 10 | Pacific Northwest | $3.21 | +$0.15 | +$0.92 |
The top ten reefer origin regions accounted for 84.2% of outbound loads moved last week. Pacific Northwest led the gains, up $0.15 per mile to $3.21 per mile, with California also up $0.15 per mile to $2.91 per mile, while Upper Atlantic gave back the most, down $0.08 per mile.
Market conditions
The reefer load-to-truck ratio jumped to 19.01 from 15.73 as load posts rose 15.7% and truck posts fell 4.2%. Load posts are now 21.6% above a year ago, and the ratio is 60.6% above the 11.84 printed in the same week last year.
Spot vs. contract
Contract is still above spot for reefer, but only barely. In October, contract averaged $2.71 per mile and spot $2.69 per mile, a $0.02 per mile spread, down from $0.29 per mile in October 2025. Contract rose $0.05 per mile, or 1.9%, from September to its highest of the year, while spot slipped $0.01 per mile, or 0.4%. Spot paid more than contract in May, June, July, and September, with June the widest at $0.16 per mile over, and the spread has flipped sign four times since April. Over the past 12 months spot is up $0.64 per mile, or 31.2%, and contract is up $0.37 per mile, or 15.8%. These are month-end October figures, so they differ from the weekly averages above.
Short-term outlook
The DAT Rate Forecast projects reefer spot linehaul to ease to $2.76 per mile 35 days out, against $2.77 per mile last week. The Forecast Low is $2.66 per mile and the Forecast High is $2.85 per mile, a spread of $0.19 per mile, the widest of the three equipment types. A year ago the market sat near $2.19 per mile, so the projected level holds well above it. Christmas tree season, already under way out of Oregon, lifts reefer demand into late November, and Thanksgiving week food demand, from turkeys and dairy to produce, usually pulls loads forward into the week before the holiday, so the forecast window covers the busiest stretch for perishables.
