Week 25 Sees Surge In Spot Market, Load Volume Growth

Spot Market Sees Strongest Rate Increase in 10 Weeks

Van, Reefer, and Flatbed Rates Climb in Late June Rebound

The spot market showed significant strength during the week ending June 27, 2025, as broker-posted spot rates in the Truckstop system posted their largest weekly gain in 10 weeks. All major equipment types— dry van, refrigerated, and flatbed—experienced rate increases, with dry van and reefer spot rates seeing their sharpest jumps in over a month.

This improvement followed two consecutive weeks of declining volume. Total load postings rose by 7.7%, helping drive up spot rates across all sectors. While total volume was still 22% below the five-year average, it stood 16% higher than the same week in 2024, reflecting a positive year-over-year shift in the spot market.

Dry Van Rates Sees Biggest Weekly Gain in Five Weeks

Dry van spot market rates rose by 5 cents during Week 25, marking the highest increase in five weeks. This gain follows seasonal trends, as late June typically brings a bump in van freight rates. Still, dry van rates remained about 2% lower than the same week in 2024 and 12% below the five-year average.

When fuel surcharges are removed, dry van rates were approximately 3% lower year-over-year. Dry van load volume jumped 10.4% compared to the previous week, but was still 8% under the same 2024 week and 32% below the five-year norm.

Reefer Spot Market Rates Surge with Volume Rebound

Refrigerated spot market rates posted the strongest increase among all segments, jumping 15.2 cents—the highest gain in six weeks. Reefer rates ended the week just 0.4% below the same week last year and about 8% under the five-year average.

Reefer load volumes surged 32.2%, offering a much-needed recovery. It marked the first year-over-year increase in reefer volumes in six weeks, up 1.4% from 2024. Despite that improvement, volumes were still 29% below typical five-year levels. Excluding fuel costs, refrigerated rates were nearly 1% lower than a year ago.

Flatbed Spot Market Shows Modest Growth

Flatbed spot market rates inched up by half a cent. While the increase was small, flatbed rates were still over 2% higher than the same week in 2024. However, they remained close to 8% below the five-year average.

Flatbed load volumes rose slightly—up 1.7% for the week. Compared to the same 2024 week, volumes were nearly 37% higher, though still down about 20% from the five-year trend. When removing the fuel surcharge, flatbed spot market rates were 2.5% higher than last year.

Spot Market Demand Reaches Three-Week High

Truck postings in the Truckstop system edged up 0.7%, while the number of load postings grew more significantly. As a result, the Market Demand Index (MDI)—which measures the ratio of loads to trucks—reached its highest point in three weeks. This uptick in demand helped support the spot market rate increases seen across all equipment types.

Spot Market Rates Trend Upward Across All Segments

The total broker-posted rates climbed by 2.2 cents for the week. On a year-over-year basis, overall spot rates were about 3% higher, even though they remain 7.5% below the five-year average. When excluding fuel surcharges, rates were up slightly more than 3% compared to the same week in 2024.

The spot market appears to be gaining momentum as it heads into July. While overall market conditions are still below historical levels, Week 25 provided a notable improvement following a sluggish early June.