Flatbed spot linehaul rates paid to carriers averaged $2.65 per mile last week, minus fuel, down 0.1%, or less than a cent per mile, from the week before. Rates climbed 29.3%, or $0.60 per mile, year over year and held 26.3%, or $0.55 per mile, above the nine-year seasonal average of $2.10 per mile, above the top of the nine-year range for this point in the calendar.
All rates cited are linehaul only. They exclude fuel costs and surcharges unless otherwise noted.
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Bellwether states
The flatbed bellwether states averaged $3.22 per mile last week, down 2 cents week over week and up 73 cents, or 29.1%, year over year. The 10 states held 51.9% of national flatbed outbound volume.
Regional rate trends
| Flatbed — Top 10 Origins by Rate Per Mile · Week Ending October 17, 2026 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Origin Region | Avg RPM | WoW change | YoY change |
| 1 | Ohio River | $3.27 | −2¢ | +95¢ |
| 2 | Southeast | $3.07 | −9¢ | +75¢ |
| 3 | Carolinas | $3.00 | 0¢ | +85¢ |
| 4 | Great Lakes | $2.87 | −4¢ | +76¢ |
| 5 | Upper Atlantic | $2.60 | −1¢ | +66¢ |
| 6 | Lower Midwest | $2.44 | −1¢ | +43¢ |
| 7 | South Central | $2.29 | −6¢ | +39¢ |
| 8 | Florida-So Georgia | $2.23 | −3¢ | +55¢ |
| 9 | California | $2.21 | +1¢ | +60¢ |
| 10 | Lower Mountain | $1.76 | +6¢ | +26¢ |
The top 10 flatbed origin regions accounted for 87.8% of outbound loads moved last week. Lower Mountain held up best week over week, up 6 cents to $1.76 per mile, followed by California, up 1 cent. Southeast gave back the most, down 9 cents.
Market conditions
Flatbed’s load-to-truck ratio rose to 36.53 from 35.69 the week before, the only increase of the three equipment types, as load posts edged up 0.7% and truck posts fell 1.6%. Against 24.61 a year ago, the board is 48.5% tighter. Flatbed remains the tightest of the three boards, with a ratio more than three times dry van’s.
Short-term outlook
The DAT Rate Forecast projects flatbed spot linehaul to ease to $2.59 per mile 35 days out, against $2.65 last week, inside a 70% confidence band from $2.52 to $2.65, the narrowest of the three equipment bands. A year ago, the market sat near $1.97, so the projected level holds well above it.
