Flatbed spot linehaul rates paid to carriers averaged $2.65 per mile last week, minus fuel, up 2.2%, or $0.06 per mile, from the week before. Rates climbed 28.2%, or $0.58 per mile, year over year and held 26.2%, or $0.55 per mile, above the nine-year seasonal average of $2.10 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 flatbed bellwether roster averaged $3.23 per mile last week, up $0.03 week over week and $0.69, or 27.2%, year over year. The ten states held 51.2% of national flatbed outbound volume.
Regional rate trends
| Origin region | RPM | WoW | YoY | Loads share |
| South Central | $2.34 | +1¢ | +42¢ | 23.7% |
| Great Lakes | $2.80 | +9¢ | +69¢ | 14.0% |
| Southeast | $3.20 | +10¢ | +90¢ | 11.8% |
| Upper Atlantic | $2.65 | +11¢ | +65¢ | 7.5% |
| Ohio River | $3.24 | +14¢ | +91¢ | 6.4% |
| Carolinas | $2.81 | +1¢ | +62¢ | 5.7% |
| California | $2.19 | +1¢ | +56¢ | 4.9% |
| Florida-So Georgia | $2.27 | +1¢ | +54¢ | 4.5% |
| Lower Atlantic | $2.85 | +21¢ | +78¢ | 4.4% |
| Lower Mountain | $1.67 | +0¢ | +18¢ | 4.4% |
The top ten flatbed origin regions accounted for 87.4 percent of outbound loads moved this week.
Market conditions
Flatbed stayed the tightest board by level last week, its load-to-truck ratio advancing to 44.13 from 41.38 as a 2.2% gain in loads met a 4.2% decline in posted trucks. At 30.02 in the same week a year earlier, the ratio has lifted by nearly half over twelve months.
Short-term outlook
The DAT Rate Forecast projects flatbed spot linehaul to ease to $2.62 per mile 35 days out, against $2.65 last week, inside a 70% confidence band from $2.55 to $2.68, the narrowest of the three equipment bands. The projected level holds well above where the market sat a year ago.
