DAT: Demand for trucks retreated last week

April 29, 2026 – Total load posts on DAT One slipped to 3.28 million during the week of April 19-25, down 2% from the prior week. Truck posts fell faster—down 8% to 213,879—as carriers trimmed their availability on the load board to the lowest Week 17 total on record. 

National 7-day average broker-to-carrier spot van and reefer rates were essentially flat, while flatbed kept climbing on tighter capacity. These are all-in rates, the amount paid by the broker to the carrier:

DAT Spot Market Report, April 19-25 2026 (Week 17) 

7-day average broker-to-carrier spot rates:

— Dry van: $2.35 per mile, flat week over week
— Refrigerated: $2.71 per mile, flat
▲ Flatbed: $3.03 per mile, up 5 cents

Van: Load and truck posts shifted lower 
▼ Van loads: 1,141,881, down 6% week over week
▼ Van equipment: 153,312, down 10%
— Linehaul rate: $1.99 per mile, flat week over week
▲ Load-to-truck ratio: 7.4, up from 7.1 the prior week

Reefer: Capacity tightened sharply
▼ Reefer loads: 510,432, down 1% week over week
▼ Reefer equipment: 38,609, down 7%
— Linehaul rate: $2.35 per mile, flat
▲ Load-to-truck ratio: 13.2, up from 12.4

Flatbed: Spot rate kept climbing
— Flatbed loads: 1,627,584, roughly flat week over week
▼ Flatbed equipment: 21,958, down 2%
▲ Linehaul rate: $2.66 per mile, up 5 cents
▲ Load-to-truck ratio: 74.1, up from 73.0

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

Flatbed spot linehaul rate nears record: At $2.66 per mile, the national weekly average linehaul flatbed rate reached a new peak for the year last week. It was 8 cents shy of the all-time high set in June 2021 and was 23% higher year over year.

Spot van rate remained stable: The national weekly average linehaul van rate held firm at $1.99 per mile. This is 25% higher year over year and 23% above the five-year average.

Spot reefer rate plateaued: The national weekly average linehaul reefer rate leveled off at $2.35 a mile after three weeks of declines. Despite flat load-posting volumes, tighter capacity pushed the average load-to-truck ratio up to 13.2 from 12.4 the previous week.

Spot rates are outperforming historical averages: Across all three equipment types, current spot-market pricing is roughly 25% higher than five-year averages (excluding pandemic-affected years), indicating a sustained, high-cost market environment.

Diesel prices remain uncomfortably high: The retail price of diesel averaged $5.35 a gallon during the week ending April 27, according to the EIA. While the average has fallen each week this month, diesel costs $1.47 more per gallon than it did at the end of February.

About DAT Freight & Analytics
DAT Freight & Analytics operates DAT One, North America’s largest truckload freight marketplace; DAT iQ, the industry’s leading freight data analytics service; the Convoy Platform automated freight-matching service; Trucker Tools, the leader in load visibility; and Outgo, the financial services platform for truckers. Check out Dean Croke’s latest DAT iQ Market Update at https://www.youtube.com/DATLoadBoards.

Load and truck posts refer to the number of posts on the DAT One marketplace during Week 17 (April 19-25). Load volume refers to the number of loads moved. Rates are aggregated from invoice data submitted to DAT iQ. dat.com

Contact:

Stephen Petit

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