Dry van spot linehaul rates paid to carriers averaged $2.26 per mile last week, minus fuel, up 2.8%, or $0.06 per mile, from the week before. Rates climbed 34.9%, or $0.58 per mile, year over year and held 23.4%, or $0.43 per mile, above the nine-year seasonal average of $1.83 per mile, near the top of the historical range.
All rates cited are linehaul only. They exclude fuel costs and surcharges unless otherwise noted.
Get the clearest, most accurate view of the truckload marketplace with data from DAT iQ.
Tune in to DAT Market Update, Mondays at 11am Eastern.
Bellwether states
Bellwether states are high-volume freight markets whose spot rates move in near-lockstep with the national average. The dry van bellwether states averaged $2.91 per mile last week, up less than $0.01 per mile from the week before and up $0.76 per mile, or 35.3%, year over year. The ten states held 35.8% of national dry van outbound volume.
Regional rate trends
| Dry Van — Top 10 Origins by Rate Per Mile · Week Ending November 6, 2026 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Origin Region | Avg RPM | WoW change | YoY change |
| 1 | California | $2.77 | +$0.15 | +$0.92 |
| 2 | Great Lakes | $2.52 | +$0.01 | +$0.58 |
| 3 | Ohio River | $2.49 | $0.00 | +$0.56 |
| 4 | Upper Atlantic | $2.20 | $0.00 | +$0.53 |
| 5 | Lower Midwest | $2.18 | $0.00 | +$0.39 |
| 6 | Lower Atlantic | $2.11 | −$0.04 | +$0.45 |
| 7 | Southeast | $2.04 | +$0.03 | +$0.39 |
| 8 | Carolinas | $1.97 | −$0.01 | +$0.33 |
| 9 | South Central | $1.86 | +$0.02 | +$0.28 |
| 10 | Florida-So Georgia | $1.38 | +$0.03 | +$0.20 |
California led the gains, up $0.15 per mile to $2.77 per mile, while Lower Atlantic gave back the most, down $0.04 per mile. The top 10 dry van origin regions accounted for 87.9% of outbound loads moved last week.
Market conditions
Load posts fell 2.0% and truck posts fell 1.7% last week, and the dry van load-to-truck ratio eased to 10.90 from 10.93 the week before last. Load posts run 26.5% above a year ago, while truck posts remain 33.9% below, which keeps the rate firm. The ratio sits well above the 5.70 of a year ago, when posted trucks ran 51.3% higher.
Spot vs. contract
Contract still sits above spot in dry van, but the gap is thinner than a year ago. These figures are month-end October, so they differ from the weekly averages above. The spread, contract minus spot with fuel excluded, was +$0.23 per mile in October, down from +$0.25 in September and +$0.34 in October 2025. Contract rose $0.03 per mile (+1.2%) to $2.45 per mile, its highest of the year, and spot gained $0.05 per mile (+2.3%) to $2.22 per mile. Spot is up $0.55 per mile (+32.9%) year over year, and contract is up $0.44 per mile (+21.9%). In June, spot paid $2.37 per mile against contract at $2.29, the first month since February 2022 that van spot paid more than contract. Spot then slid from $2.38 per mile in July to $2.17 in September before turning up again. If October’s gain holds, the spread narrows from here.
Short-term outlook
The DAT Rate Forecast projects dry van spot linehaul to rise to $2.32 per mile 35 days out, against $2.26 per mile last week. The Forecast Low is $2.25 per mile and the Forecast High is $2.39 per mile, a spread of $0.14 per mile, the middle spread of the three equipment types. A year ago the market sat near $1.88 per mile, so the projected level holds well above it. Holiday retail restocking ahead of Thanksgiving typically draws dry van freight out of distribution centers through late November, which supports the projected lift.
