Freight firms into peak as diesel climbs and the Fed lifts rates

Freight demand kept firming into peak season, and the revenue lines back it up. Long-distance truckload rates on the Bureau of Labor Statistics producer price index rose 1.9% in August to 207.6, and less-than-truckload climbed 4.5% to 306.8. Both are indices rather than dollars per mile -- they blend contract and spot business and turn later than the spot market -- but the direction is up, and it has held for a few months now.

Flatbed and specialized was the exception, slipping 0.8% to 166.2 on the same index. That series is broader than flatbed alone, but it is the one revenue line that did not join the rise. If you run a deck, the market is telling you something the van haulers are not hearing.

Reefer held roughly flat at $4.11 a mile nationally in the week to September 8, down a quarter of a percent. That is a produce-only average across whatever lanes were active, so read the lane table over the headline -- and the Delmarva short hauls are still the money, with Delaware-Maryland-Eastern Shore to Baltimore paying $12.50 a mile.

On the cost side, diesel kept climbing. The national retail average hit $5.967 a gallon in the week to September 7, up 6.6% on the week and 58% on the year. That is a pump average including taxes -- contract buyers at truck stops pay less -- but the direction is unmistakable, and several outlets reported it pushing higher still since. A quarter-to-quarter view of the pump map still runs wide: California sits at $7.764 while the Lower Atlantic is the cheapest region at $5.605.

Elsewhere this week worth a driver's attention:

- **The Fed raised its benchmark rate a quarter point to about 3.9%**, its first hike in three years. Over time that means costlier equipment and truck loans (Transport Topics).
- **Retail sales rose 1.2% in August**, better than expected and a genuine demand signal heading into peak (Transport Topics).
- **FMCSA is warning carriers about an email scam** tied to the new Motus registration system. If a Motus email lands in your inbox, verify before you click (Land Line).
- **J.B. Hunt warned Q3 earnings could fall 5-10%** on surging fuel and driver costs, and its shares dropped 12% -- the cost squeeze is not only hitting small carriers (FreightWaves).
- **The House passed the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act**, which the American Trucking Associations backed (The Trucker).

The through-line: revenue is firming across most segments and demand is real, but fuel is eating into the gain. Watch the flatbed exception and the diesel map -- where you fill up still swings the tank bill hard.