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Dry van contract linehaul reached $2.39 per mile in August 2026, while spot linehaul fell to $2.17—a contract premium of 22 cents per mile. That is a comparison of linehaul rates, not the all-in freight bill: fuel surcharges are separate, and they rose over the same period. The October U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index – Rates Edition, produced with DAT Freight & Analytics, covers June through August 2026.
How the spot–contract gap changed from June to August
The spread reversed over these three months. Spot linehaul started above contract in June, then slipped below it as contract rates rose.
| Month, 2026 | Dry van spot linehaul | Dry van contract linehaul | Contract minus spot |
|---|---|---|---|
| June | $2.38 per mile | $2.30 per mile | −$0.08 per mile |
| July | $2.35 per mile | $2.38 per mile | +$0.03 per mile |
| August | $2.17 per mile | $2.39 per mile | +$0.22 per mile |
These monthly figures are from the October 2026 U.S. Bank and DAT release. The August gap means the contract linehaul rate was 22 cents higher for each mile than the spot linehaul rate in the index’s dry van comparison. It does not establish that every lane, carrier, or shipment had the same prices.
Why a higher contract linehaul rate is not the whole freight cost
Linehaul is only one component of transportation pricing. Fuel surcharges are accounted for separately in this comparison, and U.S. Bank and DAT reported average dry van fuel surcharges rising from $0.62 per mile in June to $0.70 in August 2026. Comparing the two linehaul rates alone therefore cannot tell a shipper how much the total transportation bill changed.
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DAT general manager of shipper segment Patrick Pretorius said fuel accounted for about 21% of the per-mile broker-to-shipper spot rate on dry van loads in June and 24% in August. Those percentages describe the spot rate and are his characterization in the U.S. Bank release, not a general share for every freight bill.
Jeff Pape, U.S. Bank Corporate Payment Systems’ head of transportation, said: “Fuel costs are increasing while linehaul pricing is softening, making it important for transportation teams to closely analyze the components of their freight spend.” For cost comparisons, keep the linehaul and fuel components visible rather than treating one as a proxy for the other.
What the August figures say about the market—and what they do not
Both August linehaul rates were higher than a year earlier, even though they moved in opposite directions between June and August. FreightWaves reported spot at $2.17 per mile, up 35.6% year over year from $1.60 in August 2025, and contract at $2.39, up 20.1% from $1.99. These annual comparisons do not undo the month-to-month divergence.
FreightWaves also reported that August spot loads fell 3.2% from July to 1,264,897, while contract loads fell 1.3% to 740,249. Year over year, contract loads were down 27.7% and spot loads down 5.7%. The figures show lower reported load counts alongside the rate movements; by themselves, they do not prove what caused either rate to change.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesThe release’s industry explanations point to a different balance between committed capacity and transactional freight, as well as trucking capacity leaving the market. FreightWaves quoted ATA chief economist Bob Costello, drawing on an August Fleet Owner column: “the industry is seeing a recovery, but that is nearly all due to excess capacity leaving the market.” Treat that as an attributed interpretation, not proof that capacity changes alone produced the August spread.
How the August premium compares with the earlier trend
An earlier U.S. Bank and DAT release described the contract premium as narrowing from about $0.39 per mile a year earlier to about $0.11 by March 2026. By August, the reported spread had widened to $0.22 per mile in contract’s favor. That marks a change from the earlier compression, but the cited releases do not give every intervening month’s figures, so they cannot show exactly when or how the turn occurred.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How shippers should use the comparison
The index is useful as market context, not as a quote for a particular shipment. When reviewing a lane or budget, separate the questions that a headline rate can blur:
- Which component? Compare linehaul with linehaul, then account for fuel and other charges separately.
- Which timing? The June and August relationship differed sharply; a single month’s spot–contract spread is not a standing rule.
- Which commitment? Contract pricing concerns committed capacity, while spot freight is transactional. A lower spot linehaul number does not by itself establish equivalent capacity or service terms.
- Which freight? These dollar figures are for dry van in the June–August 2026 edition. The cited release does not establish the same rates for every route or equipment type.
DAT’s Pretorius recommended that shippers shift attention from rate-per-mile pressure toward consolidation and network planning as the market tightens. That is his recommendation; the index figures are not a guarantee that those actions will lower costs for a particular shipper.
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