U.S. Bank: Contract trucking rates rose this summer as spot rates fell

The trucking industry is struggling toward recovery after a three-year freight downturn. The latest quarterly U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index—Rates Edition, produced with DAT Freight & Analytics, shows that contract rates increased from June through August while spot rates declined over the same period.

Contract rates rose from $2.30 per mile in June to $2.38 in July and $2.39 in August. Dry van spot rates, meanwhile, fell from $2.38 per mile in June to $2.35 in July and $2.17 in August. By August, contract rates were approximately $0.22 per mile higher than spot rates.

The report also found that fuel was playing a growing role in overall transportation spending. Average fuel surcharges increased from $0.62 per mile in June to $0.70 in August, pushing total freight costs higher even as spot linehaul rates softened.

Jeff Pape, who leads transportation at U.S. Bank Corporate Payment Systems, said fuel costs were rising while linehaul rates were softening, making it important for transportation teams to examine the individual components of their freight spending.

The findings offer another sign of an industry struggling to find a stable footing amid conflicting pressures: recovering freight prices, weak demand, steadily increasing diesel prices and capacity constraints caused by a shrinking driver population.

Patrick Pretorius, general manager of shipper business at DAT, said fuel accounted for about 21% of the per-mile dry van spot rate brokers charged shippers in June. By August, that share had reached 24%, with diesel prices still trending upward heading into the fall. Higher fuel costs can push smaller, lower-margin carriers out of the market, further reducing an already shrinking driver base. Shippers that have spent the past two years pressing down per-mile rates would be well advised to focus on freight consolidation and network planning as the market tightens from both directions.