Reefer holds at $4.11 a mile as diesel climbs 6.6% and FedEx buys into Europe
A Bloomberg-cited report ties diesel's run to the Iran war, while refrigerated freight stays the one revenue line holding its ground.
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Everything the desk has filed, newest first.
Sector All · Fuel · Refrigerated · Dry van · Flatbed · LTL · RSS
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Data brief
Produce reefer rates averaged $4.39 a mile in the week to 29 September
Where refrigerated produce freight paid best and worst, from USDA's weekly market news.
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Data brief
Produce reefer rates averaged $4.26 a mile in the week to 22 September
Where refrigerated produce freight paid best and worst, from USDA's weekly market news.
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Data brief
Diesel rose to $6.529 a gallon
The national average rose 24.4 cents in the week to 21 September 2026.
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Roundup
Rates firm across the box, but a record diesel week eats into August's raise
Dry van, LTL and general freight all rose in August; flatbed slipped 0.8%, and diesel jumped 6.6% in a week to a record $5.967 a gallon.
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Roundup
Tender rejections climb and capacity thins as carriers gain rate leverage
Truckload capacity keeps leaving and trailer orders jumped in August, while a widening US-Canada trade fight adds friction to cross-border lanes.
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Roundup
A fuel-hauler HOS waiver and a reopened border lead the freight week
Record diesel dominates the headlines, but tightening capacity and a resolved Eagle Pass backup are where the week's decisions are.
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Roundup
Truckload rates firm into peak as flatbed slips and the border churns
Dry van and LTL climbed again in August; capacity is thinning into an early peak while a Fed rate rise and record diesel are the costs to watch.
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Roundup
Capacity tightens into an early peak as diesel climbs 6.6% in a week
Rising tender rejections and a shrinking carrier base point to a firmer spot market into peak, even as the national diesel average reached $5.967 a gallon.
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Roundup
Rates firm and capacity thins, but diesel keeps climbing
August truckload prices rose 1.9% and LTL 4.5%; flatbed slipped again and the national pump average hit $5.967 a gallon.
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Roundup
Diesel's record run reaches carrier earnings as J.B. Hunt guides Q3 down
Oil eased 2.2% this week as Saudi Arabia repairs a key pipeline — the first sign the supply squeeze behind the pump spike may be loosening.
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Roundup
FMCSA warns of Motus scam as freight firms and diesel climbs again
Rates rose in every truckload and LTL segment but flatbed in August, while the national diesel average reached $5.967 a gallon for the week to September 7.
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Roundup
Diesel near $6 squeezes margins as freight demand firms
Rates and retail sales point to real demand, but record diesel is eating the gains -- and FMCSA is warning drivers about a new registration scam.
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Roundup
Freight firms into peak as diesel climbs and the Fed lifts rates
Truckload and LTL indices rose again in August while flatbed slipped, and a fresh FMCSA scam warning is the week's action item.
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Roundup
Diesel sets records, but a $2 regional gap is the number to route around
Fuel hit fresh highs this week even as freight rates kept climbing -- and the cheapest pumps are now $2 a gallon under the priciest.
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Roundup
Freight rates firm into peak while diesel sets fresh records
Dry van and LTL indices rose again in August; the national diesel average hit $5.967 and outside reporting says it has climbed further since.
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Roundup
Crude slips 1.1% as diesel holds a record and enforcement ramps on I-80
The pump is still at a national-record $5.967 a gallon, and inspection blitzes in Indiana and Nebraska are a reminder to run clean.
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Roundup
Imports and peak season keep freight demand firm as diesel hits a record
Container volumes, an enduring peak season and truck-plant hiring all point the way rates have been moving -- up -- while the pump keeps taking the gain back.
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Roundup
Truck-parking rules shift and a broker-records fight lead a firming freight week
Freightliner is hiring on rising demand and container imports hit a near-record month, while cargo theft and record diesel keep the pressure on.
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Roundup
Carriers say the rate rebound is real as an oil spike lifts diesel again
August producer prices put dry van, LTL and general freight up double digits on the year, with flatbed the lone segment still slipping — and the diesel behind most fuel surcharges rose 6.6% in a week.
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Roundup
CDL schools shut in 20 states as most freight rates firm and diesel climbs
FMCSA's emergency removals, a state-by-state parking split and a preliminary August rate rebound lead the week for drivers.
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Roundup
Appreciation Week perks arrive as diesel sets another record
Free fuel cards and waived fees this week; underneath, freight is firming while the pump keeps climbing.
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Roundup
Diesel jumps 6.6% in a week, and the cheapest region is $2.16 under California
Fuel spiked across every region, but freight rates are climbing with it -- and the pump gap between regions is wide enough to plan around.
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Analysis
Diesel map runs $2.16 wide: fill in the Lower Atlantic, not California
At $5.605 a gallon the Lower Atlantic is the cheapest pump in the country and California the priciest at $7.764 -- about $324 a fill-up apart on 150 gallons.
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Data brief
Produce reefer rates averaged $4.14 a mile in the week to 15 September
Where refrigerated produce freight paid best and worst, from USDA's weekly market news.
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Roundup
Gulf Coast diesel opens a $1.86 gap on California
Fuel eased unevenly, freight rates kept climbing, and one carrier ran out of road.
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Roundup
Freight rates climb across every segment but flatbed; diesel splits $1.86 by region
The rate recovery goes broad while the fuel map opens a wide South-to-California gap — a week that rewards carriers who can route to it.
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Analysis
Reefer's best-paying lane paid $12.50 a mile out of Delmarva last week
Short East Coast produce runs carried the per-mile premium while the long western hauls paid the biggest checks at a third of the rate.
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Roundup
The freight recession broke in August
Cass says the multi-year freight downturn is over, and our own revenue indices agree — while diesel eased and the pump map opened to nearly $2 a gallon.
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Analysis
LTL rates jumped 4.5% in August while flatbed slipped 0.8%
Two freight segments that usually move together split in August, and less-than-truckload was the side with the pricing power.
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Data brief
Diesel rose to $6.285 a gallon
The national average rose 31.8 cents in the week to 14 September 2026.
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Data brief
Produce reefer rates averaged $4.16 a mile in the week to 08 September
Where refrigerated produce freight paid best and worst, from USDA's weekly market news.
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Roundup
Cargo thieves take $31.8M over Labor Day as diesel holds a record
Reefer produce rates are the week's bright spot at $4.21 a mile, while thieves increasingly work through breached freight accounts rather than the roadside.
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Data brief
Diesel rose to $5.967 a gallon
The national average rose 36.8 cents in the week to 07 September 2026.
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Roundup
NHTSA probes Tesla's Cybercab as Driver Appreciation Week brings an OOIDA deal
Also in the week's news: FMCSA opens four seizure-exemption cases to public comment, New York and New Jersey put $45 million behind zero-emission drayage, and reefer spot rates hold their premium.
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Roundup
Reefer holds at $4.21 a mile as Tesla launches robotaxis and diesel sets a record
The week's news: a federal probe into Tesla's robotaxi launch, $45M for electric drayage at the NY-NJ ports, and a planned order on direct beef sales.
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Roundup
Laredo adds crossing hours as a visa protest and Sept. 11 closures hit the border
Border news dominates the week, diesel sits near records at $5.652 a gallon, and reefer keeps firming to $4.21 a mile.
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Roundup
Factory and construction hiring points to freight demand as diesel holds a record
This roundup: a jobs report that favors truckload, a border visa fight at Laredo, OOIDA's Appreciation Week offer, and a new FMCSA comment window.
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Roundup
Border crossings close Friday for 9/11 as reefer rates keep firming
Diesel holds at $5.652 a gallon while produce reefer firms to $4.21 a mile, and cross-border drivers face Friday closures for the 9/11 anniversary.
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Roundup
Diesel holds above $5.65 as a CDL data breach and rail merger fight lead the week
Our national pump average was $5.652 for the week to 24 August; trade press reported a fresh record days later, with identity, appreciation-week and intermodal news to track.
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Roundup
Diesel nears records, but jobs are up and the pump map runs $1.69 wide
Fuel set fresh records this week, but hiring, a firm reefer rate and a widening regional pump gap are the parts a carrier can actually work with.
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Roundup
Diesel sets another record, but reefer is where the month pays
Fuel hit a fresh high in every region this week; the useful story is which trailer and which lane still clear it.
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Roundup
LTL carriers report an August pickup after the summer's steepest price drop
The freshest freight signal this week is in less-than-truckload: three big carriers posted August gains just as our own index shows LTL had fallen furthest.
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Roundup
Diesel jumps 3.6% — but reefer rates and a $1.69 pump gap are the openings
Fuel rose in every region this week; the useful moves are choosing where to buy it and which trailer to pull.
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Roundup
Reefer pays up while the box rates fade
Refrigerated freight is gaining as dry van and LTL cool, and the country's widest fuel gap is worth routing around.
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Roundup
Reefer opens a gap on dry van — $4.21 a mile and still climbing
Refrigerated rates are rising while the box and flatbed soften and diesel jumped everywhere — here is where the openings are.
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Roundup
Labor Day tightens capacity, and the reefer premium is where it pays
Freight pulled tight over the holiday, and the week's news split into where that helps you and where fuel still bites.
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Roundup
Diesel climbs in every region, but the pump gap is now $1.69 a gallon
Energy drove the week: fuel rose everywhere while crude neared triple digits, yet the regional spread and rising reefer rates both leave room to work.
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Roundup
Diesel is up everywhere -- where you fill it swings the bill $250 a tank
Fuel climbed in every region while dry van and LTL rates eased, but reefer held and the regional spread is wide enough to route around.
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Roundup
Reefer holds its premium as diesel hits five-year highs
Fuel is climbing in every region, but reefer rates and a moving used-truck market give carriers something to work with.
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Roundup
Oil nears $100 and it's in the pump — but the diesel map is $1.56 wide
Energy costs are climbing again; the fuel map, a cross-border tax break and a safety blitz are what to do about it this week.
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Roundup
Highway programs extended to Dec. 11 as used-truck sales climb 10.6%
Congress pushed back a Sept. 30 deadline, Canada held its fuel-tax break into 2027, and reefer stayed the firm corner of the market at $4.21 a mile.
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Roundup
Diesel tops $5.65 as energy prices climb and FMCSA revives broker rule
The week for owner-operators: fuel up 3.6%, the broker-transparency proposal back from the dead, and a stopgap that keeps the highway program funded past September 30.
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Roundup
Reefer firms and spot rates steady as diesel keeps climbing
USDA's produce reefer average rose again and the summer spot slump looks to be fading, even as pump diesel runs more than 50% above a year ago and Washington moves to rewrite fuel-economy rules.
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Roundup
Reefer still pays while diesel, oil and fees all climb
The cost side of the week all ran one way, but the refrigerated market gave carriers with the right trailer a reason to run.
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Analysis
Diesel runs $1.69 a gallon cheaper in the Lower Atlantic than California
On a 150-gallon fill that spread is about $254, and both regions rose again in the week to 24 August.
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Roundup
Diesel climbs to $5.454 as an oil strike and a quiet peak pressure margins
Reefer produce is the week's bright spot, firming to $4.21 a mile, while the freight surge that usually offsets high fuel has not shown up.
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Roundup
Reefer pays up while dry van softens, and the diesel map splits by a dollar
Refrigerated rates and the regional fuel spread both reward carriers who can pick their freight and their route this week, while the feds keep pulling fraudulent CDLs.
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Explainer
Motus replaced FMCSA registration in May. One change matters more than the rest.
New USDOT and docket numbers are now issued at random. Anything that reads a high number as a new carrier is now reading noise.
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Roundup
Fraudulent pickups drive a cargo-theft wave as brokers tighten carrier vetting
Two six-figure loads were stolen this month with faked paperwork, and a $604 million verdict is pushing brokers to vet the carriers they hire far harder.
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Analysis
Follow the money: the beef quota that skips Argentina and lands on Brazil
Three hundred thousand tonnes were assigned to the one quota line Brazil ships under, and Argentina is barred from using it. The group best placed to fill it pleaded guilty to bribing officials to secure financing from Brazilian state banks, paid the largest single sum at the President's inauguration, and is now under criminal antitrust investigation by his Justice Department.