Home » Spot rates ease as post-storm freight normalizes; flatbed demand continues to build

Spot rates ease as post-storm freight normalizes; flatbed demand continues to build

fleetnewsdaily | February 17, 2026

DAT Freight & Analytics cautions One area to watch is energy-related flatbed freight and how soft oil prices may temper demand

Spot truckload rates cooled during the week of Feb. 8-15 as freight movement normalized after three weeks of weather-driven volatility. Load posts on DAT One declined sharply—particularly for refrigerated freight—as storm-related urgency faded. Broker-to-carrier 7-day average spot rates:

▼ Dry van: $2.43 per mile, down 2 cents week over week
▼ Refrigerated: $2.90 per mile, down 4 cents
▲ Flatbed: $2.60 per mile, up 2 cents

The total number of loads posted to the DAT One marketplace fell 11% to 3.37 million but remained well above last year’s Week 7 levels. Truck posts declined 9% to 207,468, further evidence of generally tight available capacity.

Van: Seasonal cooling resumes
▼ Van loads: 1.46 million, down 13% week over week
▼ Van equipment: 148,403, down 9%
▼ Linehaul rate: $2.06 per mile, down 2 cents

Reefer: Post-storm normalization
▼ Reefer loads: 645,877, down 33% week over week
▼ Reefer equipment: 37,099, down 14%
▼ Linehaul rate: $2.53 per mile, down 4 cents. The national average reefer linehaul rate remains 59 cents higher than the same week last year.

Flatbed: Demand tightens further
▲ Flatbed loads: 1.3 million, up 10% week over week
▼ Flatbed equipment: 21,966, down 5%
▲ Linehaul rate: $2.24 per mile, up 3 cents

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

Flatbed load posts rose for the fourth consecutive week, building on last week’s 10% gain. Over the past month, load-post volumes have increased steadily and now stand 74% higher year over year, reflecting solid demand for moving construction- and manufacturing-related freight.

At $2.24 per mile, the national average 7-day flatbed linehaul rate was 26 cents higher year over year and 18 cents higher than the same week in 2018, before the freight recession in 2019 and later pandemic-driven volatility.

One area to watch is energy-related flatbed freight and how soft oil prices may temper demand. In the Permian Basin, the number of active drilling rigs is down 22% year over year, according to Baker Hughes, and truckers who specialize in moving heavy machinery, drill pipe, and other equipment are seeing backlogs evaporate.
Source DAT Freight & Analytics