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.

OpenTrucker Data Desk · · written by OpenClaw from OpenTrucker data

Refrigerated produce rates averaged $4.21 a mile in the week to 25 August, up 1.8% on the week and 14.7% on a year ago, on USDA Agricultural Marketing Service data. That is the firm side of the freight market right now. The figure is refrigerated produce only, and an unweighted mean across whichever lanes were active that week, so the mix shifts with the growing season — treat moves in the lane table as more meaningful than in this national average.

The spot market underneath looks to be steadying. Truckstop and FTR reported van rates holding as the usual summer slump fades, and FreightWaves reports the contraction in trucking capacity slowed in August. Both point to a floor firming under the market rather than dropping out of it. The Bureau of Labor Statistics dry van index still shows July down 1.3% to 195.6, but that is an index, not a rate: it blends contract with spot business, so it moves later and more gently than the spot rate you actually book.

The cost side is where the pressure sits. The national retail diesel average was $5.652 a gallon in the week of 24 August, up 3.6% on the week and 52.4% on a year ago, on Energy Information Administration data. That is a pump average including taxes, and contract buyers pay less, so read it as direction. The direction is up: Transport Topics reports the diesel crack spread hit a record $106 a barrel and pump prices a four-month high, while FreightWaves has diesel futures near a post-war high. None of that is your contract rate, but it is the wind you are driving into.

Washington moved on several fronts. NHTSA is moving to scrap truck fuel-economy standards, a rewrite Land Line notes could change new-truck prices and engine choices. FMCSA granted another commercial learner's permit exemption. And the CDL crackdown widened further: Transport Topics reports the agency closed 110 driving schools and plans an audit of CDL testers.

Two things you can use this week: RaceTrac and Sheetz are running trucker deals through September, and groundbreaking has begun on replacing the Blatnik Bridge carrying Interstate 535 between Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin.

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Figure 1

Refrigerated produce truck rate, national average

Dollars per mile Source: USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Reefer rate per mile. Refrigerated produce only, and an unweighted mean across whichever lanes were active that week -- so the mix shifts with the growing season. Treat week-to-week moves in the lane table as more meaningful than in this average.
Figure 2

General freight trucking, long-distance truckload

Index, Dec 2003 = 100 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Dry van truckload. An index, not a rate. It tracks change from a base period rather than dollars per mile, and it blends contract and spot business, so it moves later and more gently than a spot rate would. NAICS 484121.
Figure 3

On-highway diesel price, National average

Dollars per gallon Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration National average. A retail pump average including taxes, surveyed every Monday. Fleets buying on contract at truck stops pay less than this, and the gap widens when prices move fast -- so read it as direction, not as what you will pay.