Reefer load posts fell 20.7% last week, yet spot linehaul still rose to $2.75 a mile. Capacity — not demand — is setting reefer prices this fall. What DAT’s latest numbers mean for Q4 coverage.
Freight cooled after the quarter-end push — reefer load posts fell 20.7% last week — yet reefer spot linehaul still climbed 6 cents to $2.75 a mile, roughly a third higher than a year ago. The Midwest is leading the country: Upper Midwest outbound averaged $3.51 a mile, and the Great Lakes $3.41.
That is a capacity story, not a demand story. There simply are not enough refrigerated trucks posted to pull rates down, and DAT’s 35-day forecast has reefer edging up to $2.77 — before holiday food freight fully builds. The load-to-truck ratio, at 16.75, remains more than 56% above where it sat a year ago.
For shippers, the takeaway is simple: Q4 reefer coverage is not something to shop at the last minute. JASKO runs asset-based refrigerated capacity on Midwest and Southeast lanes — if your Q4 coverage is not confirmed, now is the time. Review our available capacity or request a quote.
Source: DAT iQ, week ending October 10, 2026.
