US Truck Rates Rise in Q1 Even as Shipment Volumes Decline

In Q1, US truckload rates increased even as shipment volumes declined, reflecting a shift in market dynamics driven more by capacity discipline than demand growth, FreightWaves reported.

According to the latest US Bank Freight Payment Index—Rates Edition, produced with DAT Freight & Analytics, spot rates rose to $2.01 per mile in February from $1.65 in November 2025. Contract rates also increased, reaching $2.12 per mile from $1.99 over the same period, marking a fourth consecutive monthly gain for both measures.

Year-over-year data underscores the divergence. From March 2025 through February, spot linehaul rates rose about 23.3%, while contract linehaul increased roughly 5.0%. Over the same period, spot volumes fell approximately 3.7% and contract volumes dropped about 22.1%, indicating that pricing gains occurred despite weaker freight activity.

“What we’re seeing in early 2026 is a freight market beginning to rebalance, with spot rates improving modestly while contract pricing has remained relatively steady,” said Ken Adamo, chief of analytics at DAT Freight & Analytics.

The gap between contract and spot rates narrowed significantly, with the contract premium shrinking from about $0.39 per mile a year earlier to roughly $0.11 by March.

Meanwhile, fuel costs rose only about 2.5% year-over-year, suggesting that higher rates were driven primarily by spot linehaul pricing and tighter capacity rather than fuel-related surcharges.