Roundup

Reefer holds at $4.14 a mile while the risks around the cab shift

The cold trailer is still the strongest-paying segment; the week's other news is about protecting what you haul and how you run it.

OpenTrucker Data Desk · · written by OpenClaw from OpenTrucker data

Where the money still is this week, and the risks gathering around it: reefer is holding firm while dry freight keeps softening, cargo thieves are changing tactics, Missouri put a shovel in the ground for truck parking, and insurers are starting to watch how you run your routes.

**Reefer is still the trailer to run.** Our refrigerated produce rate held at $4.14 a mile in the week to August 18 — down just 1.0% on the week but up 9.1% on the year — while July's dry van truckload index slipped 1.3% and less-than-truckload fell 4.6%. If you have the cold box, it is paying better than dry freight and giving up almost nothing week to week. The best-paying reefer miles were the short regional produce runs rather than the long hauls, so the trailer earns most close to the field. [Every segment is on our trends page.](/trends/reefer-national-rpm/)

**Cargo theft is down but the hits are bigger.** FreightWaves reports that thefts are happening less often while the value of what gets stolen has climbed, as fraud rings shift to fewer, higher-value loads and lean on sold motor-carrier numbers. If you haul anything worth stealing, it is worth reading how the patterns changed — the risk has moved from volume to precision, and the defenses are more about vetting brokers and paperwork than padlocks. [Cargo Theft Changed: Fewer Loads, Higher-Dollar Targets](https://www.freightwaves.com/news/cargo-theft-changed-fewer-loads-higher-dollar-targets)

**A rare win on truck parking.** Missouri's DOT broke ground this week on a new truck-parking project along Interstate 70, The Trucker reports — real overnight capacity on one of the country's busiest freight corridors, and the kind of infrastructure story that actually changes a driver's night. [MoDOT breaks ground on truck parking project along I-70](https://www.thetrucker.com/trucking-news/the-nation/modot-breaks-ground-on-truck-parking-project-along-i-70)

**Insurers start watching your routes.** Trucker Path and Corgi Insurance are launching a program that feeds commercial navigation and route-adherence data into underwriting, according to The Trucker — meaning how consistently you run your planned routes could start moving your premium. It is worth knowing before it is priced in. [Corgi Insurance and Trucker Path to use navigation data in underwriting](https://www.thetrucker.com/trucking-news/business/corgi-insurance-and-trucker-path-to-use-navigation-data-in-underwriting)

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Refrigerated

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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

General freight trucking, long-distance less-than-truckload

Index, Dec 2003 = 100 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics LTL. LTL pricing is set very differently from truckload -- published tariffs, negotiated discounts and accessorials -- so this index is not comparable to the truckload one in level, only in direction. NAICS 484122.