{
  "id": 11671546,
  "title": "U.S. Bank: Contract rates open 22-cent gap over spot freight",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/03/u-s-bank-contract-rates-open-22-cent-gap-over-spot-freight",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-03T11:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "FreightWaves",
    "slug": "freightwaves",
    "url": "https://www.freightwaves.com/news/us-bank-dat-contract-spot-rate-gap"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "U.S. Bank reported on Thursday that contract dry van rates ended 22 cents per mile higher than spot freight in August, a 22-cent gap that has expanded since April, according to the October edition of their Freight Payment Index – Rates Edition. The index, co-produced with DAT Freight & Analytics, tracks spot, contract, and fuel costs per mile. Spot linehaul dropped to $2.17 a mile in August, down from $2.35 in July and $2.38 in June. Contract linehaul rose to $2.39, up from $2.30 in June and $2.38 in July. The index indicates that the contract-spot rate gap has been widening since April, suggesting that shippers still value committed capacity while transactional freight absorbs more market weakness. Analysts attribute the gap to trucking supply shortages, with capacity exiting the market faster than freight demand declines. U.S. Bank's head of transportation, Jeff Pape, advises transportation teams to closely analyze the components of their freight spend as fuel costs rise while linehaul pricing remains soft. Fuel surcharges increased to $0.70 per mile in August, up 13% from $0.62 in July. When fuel is included, spot rates fell 3.4% to $2.87 per mile, while contract rates rose to $3.09 from $3.00. FreightWaves reports that rising diesel costs could further push trucking capacity out of the market in the fourth quarter, exacerbating the shrinking driver pool.",
  "summary": "Contract dry van rates rose every month since April to $2.39 a mile while spot slid to $2.17, reversing June's inversion in the U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index – Rates Edition. The post U.S. Bank: Contract rates open 22-cent gap over spot freight appeared first on FreightWaves .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}