Truckload pricing & contracts
Truckload contract resets average about 13% higher, but fuel and index scope matter
· Source: FreightWaves SONAR
FreightWaves SONAR's new Contract Rate Change Direction index showed implemented truckload contract resets averaging 13.11% above the rates they replaced on October 22, versus 3.53% a year earlier. Cass and DAT also show year-over-year pricing pressure, but their methodologies differ: the SONAR measure covers contracts that changed, not every shipment, and DAT's September all-in gains were heavily influenced by record fuel surcharges.
Summary and practical context by RoadHouse Recruiting · Reviewed
The new SONAR index measures implemented resets, not the entire contract market
FreightWaves reports that SONAR's Contract Rate Change Direction index stood at 13.11% on October 22, up from 3.53% a year earlier. The seven-day rolling measure compares a newly implemented contract base rate with the rate it replaced in an established shipper-carrier relationship, and it counts a change only when the old rate had been stable for more than 90 days. It excludes temporary route-guide waterfall pricing and contract-plus moves intended to capture short-lived disruption.
A 13% reset reading is not a 13% increase on every contracted load
The index includes only contracts that changed, does not weight the result by total freight volume and does not show whether the carrier moved up or down in a shipper's routing guide after repricing. It is also not an annualized inflation rate. FreightWaves says it can lead broader invoice data directionally, but it does not by itself prove that every increase will hold or that a shipper's overall transportation budget rose by the same percentage.
Cass confirms broad linehaul inflation, using a different monthly measure
Cass reported that its Truckload Linehaul Index increased 10.1% year over year in September and 0.6% from August. That index covers a broad mix of spot and contract truckload invoices while excluding fuel and accessorials. Cass therefore supports the direction of stronger pricing, but it is not a direct validation of the SONAR 13.11% figure because the population, time period and calculation are different.
DAT shows why fuel must be separated from base-rate negotiations
DAT reported September all-in contract averages of $3.24 per mile for dry van, $3.58 for reefer and $4.04 for flatbed. After removing DAT's estimated fuel component, contract linehaul changed five cents or less from August: dry van slipped one cent to $2.40, reefer rose one cent to $2.66 and flatbed fell five cents to $3.03. DAT estimated record fuel components of 84 cents, 92 cents and $1.01 per mile respectively, demonstrating that a higher invoice does not necessarily mean the same increase in carrier linehaul revenue.
Tighter capacity can sustain leverage even without strong freight growth
FreightWaves linked the delayed contract resets to tender rejection rates averaging near 13% over recent months and said capacity has not grown meaningfully. DAT's September volume indexes were below year-earlier levels for dry van, reefer and flatbed, however. Taken together, the data describe a capacity-constrained pricing environment rather than a simple demand boom: carriers may have more leverage while still facing uneven load availability and high operating costs.
Shippers and carriers should compare like-for-like economics
RoadHouse perspective: contract reviews should separate linehaul, fuel formula, accessorials, minimums and routing-guide position. Carriers should test whether a proposed base rate covers insurance, labor, maintenance and empty miles after fuel recovery. Shippers should compare service acceptance, primary-carrier compliance and total landed cost, not treat a national reset index as the correct increase for every lane.
Understanding the update
The 13.11% figure comes from a newly described proprietary SONAR index and is independently contextualized with Cass and DAT datasets. These sources all point toward stronger truckload pricing, but they measure different populations and cost components. The SONAR reading is neither an annualized rate nor a measure of all contracted freight, and DAT's all-in figures include estimated fuel.
What it means for drivers and carriers
Use the double-digit reset signal to prepare for tougher bid negotiations, but model each lane with separate linehaul, fuel and service assumptions; national indexes do not establish the correct price or margin for a specific contract.
Questions to consider
- Is the proposed increase in base linehaul, fuel recovery, accessorials or a combination?
- How much contracted volume actually moved at the old and new rates?
- Will the carrier's routing-guide position and acceptance obligations change after repricing?
Read the original reporting
This page provides an original summary and practical commentary. The linked source contains the full reporting. Older stories reflect information available on their published dates.
Read the source at FreightWaves SONAR ↗ (opens in a new tab)