DAT Freight & Analytics

Moving Freight Since 1978🚛💨We’re glad you’re here! Follow along for market updates, info on how to use our products to improve your business, & so much more!

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

🎃 Halloween shelves don’t restock themselves, and this week a lot of that freight is rolling out of Allentown, PA.

📈 Outbound dry van spot rates excluding fuel are at a four-year high
🔥 Up 41% year over year
📦 Outbound volumes up 32% year over year
🛣️ I-78 and I-81 put Lehigh Valley DCs within overnight reach of New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and much of New England

Rates climbing this sharply while volumes rise points to real demand pull, not just thinning capacity. Retailers and e-commerce shippers are leaning on the Lehigh Valley to turn inventory fast, and the Northeast’s short, dense runs keep multi-stop drivers moving.

Carriers, are you building multi-stop routes out of the Lehigh Valley this season?

#DryVan #Trucking #FreightMarket #DATiQ #HotMarket

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

Wondering what’s going on in freight this week?

Start here 👉 https://t.co/8xg6oBe65z

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

🚛 Reefer load posts cooled again last week, but rates kept inching higher.

📈 National reefer spot averaged $2.76/mile, up 1 cent week over week
📊 Up 32.7% year over year and 28.8% above the seasonal average
🌾 Upper Midwest led regional gains, up 13 cents to $3.65/mile
⚖️ Load-to-truck ratio eased to 15.77 but remains 42.6% above last year

DAT’s 35-day forecast has reefer edging up to $2.78/mile, still well above the $2.09 the market sat at a year ago.

Carriers, is the Midwest paying better on your reefer lanes right now?

Full report 👉 https://t.co/dekurJo1gM

#Reefer #Trucking #FreightMarket #DATiQ

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

🚛 Produce volume rose 7% last week, and California coast lanes into New York are paying more.

📦 National reefer produce volume climbed 7% week over week, per USDA
🍎 Washington apple and pear lanes lead the board at 63% above last year
🥬 Salinas and Santa Maria into New York gained 17% and 13%
🌵 Volume through the Imperial and Coachella section jumped 72%

California and South Texas lanes both average 38% above last year, even with rates flat week over week.

Carriers, are you heading west for apples or south for avocados?

Full report 👉 https://t.co/gm4M7D40m0

#Reefer #Produce #Trucking #FreightMarket #DATiQ

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

Transport and logistics organizations logged 283 ransomware attacks in 2025, more than in 2023 and 2024 combined, according to a recent industry threat report. Within that group, freight and logistics services were the most targeted sub-sector.

For anyone moving freight, this is a present risk rather than a hypothetical one, and one of the best defenses costs nothing: Turn on automatic software updates, then check for pending updates once a week instead of waiting for a prompt. Attackers often exploit vulnerabilities that already have a fix available, one that simply hasn't been installed yet.

Learn more about keeping your devices secure 👉 https://t.co/0WBzzTezH2

#CybersecurityAwarenessMonth #Freight #Trucking #FraudPrevention

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

🚛 Dry van load posts cooled last week, but rates held their ground.

📈 National dry van spot averaged $2.26/mile, nearly flat week over week
📊 Up 34.5% year over year and 23.8% above the seasonal average
🌴 California was the only top region to gain, up 4 cents to $2.56/mile
⚖️ Load-to-truck ratio eased to 9.70, still well above 5.75 a year ago

DAT’s 35-day forecast has dry van near $2.23/mile, still well above the $1.67 the market sat at a year ago.

Carriers, is California freight paying off on your lanes right now?

Full report 👉 https://t.co/wmC1lfGWin

#DryVan #Trucking #FreightMarket #DATiQ

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

Diesel averaged more than $6 a gallon for the first time in September.

The September 2026 DAT Truckload Volume Index shows how record diesel prices pushed rates higher across all three equipment types, even as van and reefer volumes fell from August.

Full data here 👉 https://t.co/IdyJwg4dPB

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

🚛 Flatbed was the only board to tighten last week, and rates are holding above the top of the nine-year range.

📈 National flatbed spot averaged $2.65/mile, nearly flat week over week
📊 Up 29.3% year over year and 26.3% above the seasonal average
🏔️ Lower Mountain led regional gains, up 6 cents to $1.76/mile
⚖️ Load-to-truck ratio rose to 36.53, the only increase of the three equipment types

DAT’s 35-day forecast has flatbed near $2.59/mile, still well above the $1.97 the market sat at a year ago.

Carriers, are you finding the best flatbed pay out of the Ohio River or the Carolinas?

Full report 👉 https://t.co/Bp737cmqjR

#Flatbed #Trucking #FreightMarket #DATiQ

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

Rates held while freight cooled.

Dry van rates held at $2.26/mile minus fuel even as load posts fell 6%, with truck posts 21% to 27% below last year across all three equipment types. Flatbed sits at $2.65/mile minus fuel, above the top of the nine-year range for mid-October. Reefer rates edged up to $2.76/mile minus fuel, nearly 29% above the seasonal average.

Where are you finding capacity right now?

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

New in DAT iQ this month for brokers

📦 LTL rate estimates alongside truckload and intermodal in Rateview
📊 Lane trend charts that flag missing months
🎯 Shipper Spot Rates, hazmat and team premiums, Rate Strength Score, and intermodal benchmarks

See what’s new 👉 https://t.co/S3DklABLzA

#FreightBrokers #DATiQ #FreightData

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

SoCal’s record import wave is rolling off the docks and onto the highway.

📦 The Port of LA moved 1M+ TEUs in September, its busiest month ever
📈 LA and Ontario outbound dry van volumes are up 61% year over year
🔝 LA dry van spot is back near $3.20/mile, a 4-year high
🌵 LA to Phoenix loads pay just over $2,000, up from about $1,200 a year ago

With peak retail season kicking in, expect LA and Ontario to stay tight and outbound capacity to be hard to find.

Carriers, are you chasing Phoenix freight or staying put in the LA basin?

#DryVan #Trucking #FreightMarket #DATiQ #PeakSeason

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

🚛 Reefer load posts dropped 20.7% last week, but rates still moved higher.

📈 National reefer spot averaged $2.75/mile, up 6 cents week over week
📊 Up 32.7% year over year and 27.6% above the seasonal average
🌾 Upper Midwest led regional gains, up 9 cents to $3.51/mile
⚖️ Load-to-truck ratio fell to 16.75 but remains 56.5% above last year

DAT’s 35-day forecast has reefer edging up to $2.77/mile, still well above where the market sat a year ago.

Carriers, are you chasing Upper Midwest or Great Lakes freight this week?

Full report 👉 https://t.co/8UcAZtfV7A

#Reefer #Trucking #FreightMarket #DATiQ

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

Does rate data built on real transactions have to run a week behind the market? We measured 20 million loads to find out ⏱️

📄 DAT spot data starts at the rate confirmation, before the truck loads
🚚 About a third of broker spot loads reach us before the truck is due to deliver
⏰ Two-thirds are credited within 24 hours of estimated delivery
🛣️ On hauls of 551+ miles, close to six in ten arrive before estimated delivery

Freshness is only one filter, though. Sample depth, contributor spread, and whether a record gets corrected at settlement matter just as much.

What's your read on where data latency actually costs brokers in this market? 👉 https://t.co/hMObdLQO3a

#FreightBrokers #SpotMarket #FreightData #DATRateView

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

More than 99% of compromised accounts had no extra login protection turned on. In most cases, there was no sophisticated hack involved, just a single password left to do all the work.

Brokerage accounts hold customer data, carrier contacts, payment details, and load history. That information is valuable to whoever gets in, and a weak or reused password is the easiest way in.

Two habits go a long way: Make your passwords longer and harder to guess by skipping birthdays, company names, and anything predictable. Then turn on multi-factor authentication everywhere it's offered. It adds one quick step at login and blocks nearly all automated attacks, even if a password leaks.

Learn how to build better password habits 👉 https://t.co/UFx3C9OHp7

#CybersecurityAwarenessMonth #Freight #Trucking #FraudPrevention

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

🚛 Dry van rates climbed last week, even as load posts fell 20.4%.

📈 National dry van spot averaged $2.26/mile, up 5 cents week over week
📊 Up 35.1% year over year and 23.0% above the seasonal average
🌴 California and Ohio River led regional gains, each up 7 cents
⚖️ Load-to-truck ratio eased to 10.50 but sits well above 6.29 a year ago

DAT’s 35-day forecast has dry van near $2.23/mile, still well above where the market sat a year ago.

Carriers, are you feeling the lift out of California or the Ohio River?

Full report 👉 https://t.co/oaPzw39Fii

#DryVan #Trucking #FreightMarket #DATiQ

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

More ways to procure trucks than ever, but shippers are still rebuilding every mini-bid from scratch in Excel and chase responses across email threads. 📊

Procurement outside the annual cycle has become the new reality. It's time for a tool built to make the process easier.

See a different way to run your next bid 👉️

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

🚛 Flatbed load posts dropped last week, but rates are holding near the top of the nine-year range.

📈 National flatbed spot averaged $2.65/mile, up 1 cent week over week
📊 Up 28.8% year over year and 25.4% above the seasonal average
🏗️ The Carolinas led regional gains, up 19 cents to $3.00/mile
⚖️ Load-to-truck ratio eased to 36.60 as load posts fell 12.5%

DAT’s 35-day forecast has flatbed near $2.59/mile, still well above where the market sat a year ago.

Carriers, where’s the better flatbed pay right now, the Carolinas or the Great Lakes?

Full report 👉 https://t.co/0IuegAeFPM

#Flatbed #Trucking #FreightMarket #DATiQ

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

Customers want consistent capacity and consistent rates. Carriers want the exact same thing, plus a better number.

Balancing those two is the job. That balance comes down to trust, and trust comes down to knowing the market. DAT gives you a read on where a lane is headed based on years of history, so you're not guessing at seasonality, you're reading it.

If you've been doing this long enough, it's a gut feeling. The data just proves the gut feeling was right.

🎙️ Chris Jolly of FreightCoach

#FreightBrokers #Trucking #FreightMarket #FreightData #Logistics #DAT

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

Fewer loads, higher rates, and diesel isn’t done yet.

Load posts fell 20.4% for dry van, 20.7% for reefer, and 12.5% for flatbed this week, but spot rates minus fuel still climbed in all three. Dry van hit $2.26 per mile, reefer $2.75, and flatbed $2.65. Truck posts are down more than 20% from a year ago, so even a lighter load board has little slack.

Diesel is adding to the squeeze. After 19 straight days of declines, retail diesel has risen $0.03 over the last three days and sits near $6.30 a gallon, $2.00 above where it was in early March. What’s your plan if diesel climbs back toward $6.75?

[DAT Freight & Analytics @datfreightteam]

🎃 Pumpkin season is heating up reefer freight across the Midwest and Northeast.

🔥 Hot region is Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York and Michigan
📈 Refrigerated rates are up 41% year over year
💵 Averaging $3.65 per mile this week
🚚 Pumpkins are moving from farms to grocers and pumpkin patches ahead of Halloween

With rates already elevated, the seasonal produce push could add more competition for reefer capacity through October and into Thanksgiving.

Reefer carriers, are pumpkin loads on your radar? 👇

#Reefer #Trucking #FreightMarket #FreightData #Logistics #DAT