Higher fuel prices may be affecting truck capacity on the spot market, with equipment posts down 4% week over week

Diesel shock may be pulling capacity off the road

Freight trends from DAT One and DAT iQ

Spot market data for March 8-14, 2026 (Week 11)

Diesel shock may be pulling capacity off the road

Truckload capacity shrank across the DAT One marketplace last week as diesel prices hit their highest point since late 2022, raising concerns among owner-operators and small carriers about whether the rates they negotiate can fully cover their operating costs. 

Truck posts fell 4% overall during the week of March 8-14, with van equipment dropping 9% to the lowest level for Week 11 in at least 10 years. Even as load-to-truck ratios increased across all three equipment types, broker-to-carrier 7-day average spot rates declined.

▼ Dry van: $2.28 per mile, down 8 cents week over week

▼ Refrigerated: $2.67 per mile, down 8 cents

▼ Flatbed: $2.68 per mile, down 1 cent

Total load posts rose slightly to 3.45 million last week, indicating demand stayed steady despite a decline in available truck capacity.

Van: Week 11 truck posts fall to 10-year low 

▼ Van loads: 1.26 million, down 5% week over week

▼ Van equipment: 155,818, down 9%

▼ Linehaul rate: $1.92 per mile, down 8 cents

▲ Load-to-truck ratio: 8.1, up from 7.8

Reefer: Produce markets tighten 

▲ Reefer loads: 586,128, up 4% week over week

▼ Reefer equipment: 36,515, down 6%

▼ Linehaul rate: $2.30 per mile, down 8 cents

▲ Load-to-truck ratio: 16.0, up from 14.4

Flatbed: Demand increases

▲ Flatbed loads: 1.6 million, up 7% week over week

▼ Flatbed equipment: 21,046, down 3%

▼ Linehaul rate: $2.28 per mile, down 8 cents

▲ Load-to-truck ratio: 76.4, up from 69.4

Market analysis from Dean Croke, Industry Analyst, DAT Freight & Analytics

The national average fuel surcharge for dry van freight rose from 44 cents to 60 cents per mile in the two weeks following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. Despite that increase, the national average van linehaul spot rate fell 8 cents last week.

The average van rate for DAT’s top 50 van lanes by load volume fell by 6 cents last week, reaching $2.18 per mile. In the 13 key Midwest states, which account for nearly half of the national load volume and often signal future national trends, spot rates dropped by 13 cents to $2.31 per mile.

The national average reefer linehaul rate experienced its biggest single-week drop this year, decreasing 8 cents to $2.30 per mile. This marks the fifth consecutive week of decline, with a total reduction of 26 cents per mile.

Reefer load posts increased 4% last week, driven by a 9% rise in domestic produce volumes and a surge in outbound loads of lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona, market.

The USDA Specialty Crops Truck Rate Report showed a “Slight Shortage” of refrigerated truck availability in Nogales, South Texas, and Central Florida, three of the country’s largest geographic regions.

Source DAT Freight & Analytics

Category: Driver Stuff, Electric Vehicles, Engines & Drivetrains, Equipment, Featured, Fleet Diagnostics & Software, Fleet Maintenance, Fuel & Oil, General Update, Green, News, Shop Stuff, Transit News, Vehicles