Rates on the spot market tumbled in August in all three major truckload segments, according to monthly rates data from Truckstop.com, in line with seasonal late-summer downward rates trends. Per-mile rates remain sky high, however, with each segment holding strong year-over-year gains. Rates surged in April, May and June, cresting at record highs in June before receding some in July and August.
Flatbed loads in August averaged $2.70 a mile, according to Truckstop.com’s data. That’s a 15-cent dip from July, but a 36-cent gain from the same month last year. Flatbed rates reached $2.88 a mile in June.
Reefer rates averaged $2.76 a mile in August, according to Truckstop.com — a 17-cent drop from July, but a 64-cent increase from August 2017. Reefer’s per-mile national average topped $3 a mile in June, hitting $3.02.
Per-mile dry van rates averaged $2.47 in August, a 23-cent dip from July. However, they were up 47 cents from August 2017. Dry van rates averaged $2.73 a mile in June.