Spot Rates Hit Multi-Year Highs This Summer

For the first time in a while, the freight market is working in your favor. Spot rates closed out the spring at multi-year highs across dry van, reefer, and flatbed, truck postings are sitting near decade lows, and the analysts who follow this for a living think the run has legs into 2027. If you've been grinding through a soft market, this is the turn you've been waiting on.

The numbers

Here's where things stand heading into summer 2026:

• Dry van spot rates averaged around $2.89 per mile in May; national dry van averaged about $2.68 in the spring.
• Reefer spot rates hit roughly $3.35 per mile.
• Spot rates are running 20% to 25% above where they were a year ago, per Uber Freight.
• One carrier reported spot rates jumping 47% year over year to $3.45 a mile right after Roadcheck week.
• Tender rejections climbed to 5.7%, the highest in four years, which means brokers are kicking more freight onto the spot market.

The supply side is doing the heavy lifting. Capacity has tightened, an unusually early produce season pulled demand forward, and English proficiency and non-domiciled CDL enforcement are pulling drivers off the road. Fewer trucks chasing the same freight is exactly what pushes rates up.

Why this isn't a head-fake

The reason this feels different from a one-week spike is that contract rates are finally moving too. FTR projects contract rates landing about 8% above 2025 levels, and the gap between spot and contract has been closing. When both move together, it signals a real cycle, not a weather blip. Multiple forecasters expect elevated rates to hold through the rest of 2026 and possibly well into next year.

What this means for you

If you run the spot market as an owner-operator or lease driver, this is the window to be selective. With postings near decade lows, you have leverage to turn down cheap freight and hold out for the lanes that pay. Watch reefer and produce lanes especially while the season runs hot. If you're a company driver, a rising market is when carriers start competing for you, so it's a good time to ask about pay packages, sign-on terms, or a better dedicated lane. Don't lock into a long cheap contract right now if you can stay flexible. And keep an eye on diesel, which has started easing off its spring highs, because lower fuel plus higher rates is the combination that actually grows your net.

Watch the costs

High gross doesn't mean high take-home. The typical owner-operator grosses $200K to $350K a year but nets closer to $64K to $87K after fuel, insurance, and maintenance. Run your cost-per-mile and price your loads off that number, not off the headline rate.