How Truckload Freight Rates Work: Spot, Contract and Rate per Mile
The parts of a truckload rate, why spot and contract prices move apart, where public rate data comes from, and how to work out what a load really pays per mile.
A truckload freight rate is the price to move one full trailer from pickup to delivery, made up of linehaul pay, a fuel surcharge and any accessorial charges. Shippers buy trucks either on the spot market, priced load by load, or under contract rates set for months at a time. The balance between available trucks and freight is the main force that moves both.
Rates are usually quoted per loaded mile or as one flat all-in price. Comparing loads fairly means turning every offer into the same unit, which the worked example below does.
What is the difference between spot and contract rates?
A contract rate is a price a shipper agrees with a carrier or broker for a lane, usually through an annual or quarterly bid. A spot rate is a one-time price for a single load, set by negotiation on the day, often through a broker or a load board.
| Contract | Spot | |
|---|---|---|
| How the price is set | Bid or negotiation for a lane, held for a set term | Negotiated per load |
| Volume | Expected loads per week, not always guaranteed | One load at a time |
| Fuel | Linehaul plus a fuel surcharge schedule | Often quoted all-in, fuel included |
| Reaction to market changes | Slow, at the next bid | Fast, day to day |
When trucks are scarce, spot rates climb above contract rates and some contracted carriers reject tendered loads to chase better spot money. When freight is scarce, spot rates fall below contract and shippers move more freight to the spot market. Analysts watch the gap between the two as a sign of where the market is heading.
What goes into a truckload rate?
A rate confirmation usually lists three kinds of pay:
- Linehaul. The base pay for moving the freight, per mile or flat.
- Fuel surcharge. A per-mile amount tied to the weekly diesel price, which protects the carrier when fuel rises. Our fuel surcharge guide shows the formula.
- Accessorials. Fees for extra work or time: detention after free time at a dock, layover, extra stops, truck ordered not used (TONU), lumper fees, tarping, driver assist and similar items.
Accessorials only get paid if they are written into the rate confirmation or the contract, with the rate and the free time spelled out. How waiting time is billed at ports and docks is covered in our guide to demurrage and detention.
What makes freight rates go up or down?
Supply of trucks and demand for freight set the price, and several factors push each side:
- Capacity. When carriers leave the market or stop adding trucks, the remaining trucks can charge more. When new authorities flood in, rates soften.
- Seasons. Produce season, retail restocking before the holidays and the end of each quarter add freight. Holiday weeks and enforcement events such as CVSA’s annual Roadcheck can take trucks off the road for a few days.
- Lane balance. Lanes into areas that ship little freight out pay more, because the carrier faces empty miles leaving. The reverse direction, the backhaul, pays less.
- Equipment. Reefer and flatbed loads usually price above dry van because fewer trucks can haul them and the work is harder.
- Fuel. Diesel moves the surcharge. The U.S. average on-highway diesel price was $3.90 a gallon in the first week of March 2026 and $6.29 for the week of November 2, 2026, according to the EIA weekly diesel survey.
Where does public freight rate data come from?
No federal agency publishes a daily national truckload rate. The public sources are indirect:
- Bureau of Labor Statistics. Producer Price Indexes for trucking industries, including long-distance truckload, track price changes monthly as an index, not in dollars per mile.
- USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. A weekly truck rate report for refrigerated produce shipments on specific origin and destination lanes.
- EIA. The weekly diesel price used in most fuel surcharge schedules.
Most dollar-per-mile spot figures quoted in trade news come from private load boards and data companies, such as DAT, Truckstop and the Cass Freight Index. They are useful for direction but measure their own users’ loads, so numbers differ between sources.
How do you calculate what a load really pays?
Divide the total pay by all the miles the truck runs for that load, including the empty miles to reach the pickup, then subtract the cost that changes with each mile. The example below uses made-up load numbers and the EIA price for the week of November 2, 2026.
| Item | Example value |
|---|---|
| All-in rate offered | $2,100 |
| Loaded miles | 650 |
| Empty (deadhead) miles to pickup | 80 |
| Total miles | 730 |
| Rate per loaded mile | $3.23 |
| Rate per total mile | $2.88 |
| Fuel used at 6.5 mpg | 112.3 gallons |
| Fuel cost at $6.292 a gallon | $706.64 |
| Revenue after fuel | $1,393.36 |
| Revenue after fuel per total mile | $1.91 |
A load board shows the first number, $3.23 a mile. The truck earns $1.91 a mile once deadhead and fuel are counted, before insurance, truck payment, maintenance, tires, tolls and the driver’s own pay. If the shipper holds the truck for 3 hours past free time, the detention line on the rate confirmation decides whether those hours earn anything.
How should you read a rate confirmation?
- Check that the broker or carrier named on it matches the authority you looked up. Our guide on how to check a freight broker lists what to verify.
- Confirm whether the rate is all-in or linehaul plus fuel, and how fuel is calculated.
- Find the detention terms: free time, hourly rate and what proof is required.
- Look for fees the payer may deduct, such as late delivery or missing paperwork.
- Note the payment terms and whether quick pay costs a percentage.
Bottom line
Rate per loaded mile is the number brokers advertise, and it is the least useful one for deciding whether to take a load. Revenue per total mile after fuel shows what the load covers, and a short, high-paying load into a region with little outbound freight can earn less over two days than a lower rate with a strong reload. With diesel above $6 a gallon, fuel took about a third of the example load’s pay, so check any all-in spot quote against the current EIA price.
FAQ
What is a good rate per mile for a truckload?
It depends on the lane, the equipment and the week, and public sources do not publish one national figure. Compare an offer to your own cost per mile, including empty miles, rather than to a headline average.
Why do outbound and return rates on the same lane differ?
Freight volume is rarely balanced. The direction with more freight than trucks pays more, and carriers accept less on the return to avoid driving empty.
Are fuel surcharges included in spot rates?
Spot loads are often quoted all-in, with fuel built into one number. Contract freight usually pays a separate fuel surcharge based on the weekly EIA diesel price.
Do LTL rates work the same way?
No. Less-than-truckload pricing uses freight class, weight, density and published tariffs with discounts. A terminal network, not one truck, moves each shipment, so the cost structure is different.
