The OTR TrueFreight Brief is your monthly supply-focused analysis of what is truly happening in the logistics market.
Freight Rates by Equipment
Key Takeaway: Reefer moved higher in October while dry van and flatbed were little changed.
Reefer rose 6.3% month-over-month to $4.04/mi, the only equipment type with a meaningful move, and some of that gain likely reflects seasonal harvest demand. Flatbed edged up 0.3% and dry van slipped 0.6%, leaving both essentially flat from September.
Year-over-year comparisons remain elevated. Dry van is up 46.3%, reefer 43.3% and flatbed 39.9% versus October 2025, compared with roughly 38% to 42% in August. Part of that gap reflects a soft base a year ago, and the month-to-month picture is mixed rather than accelerating. Current levels look firm, but we would not assume they hold through the rest of Q4.
Rate per Mile Regional Volatility
Key takeaway: Rate increases were concentrated in the north and west.
October's map shows increases across nearly the entire western half of the country, strongest in the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies and extending through the Upper Midwest and Great Lakes. The Southeast, South Central and most of the Mid-Atlantic were largely flat, and Arkansas was the only market to decline.
Seasonal factors, such as fall harvest reefer demand out of the Northwest and early winter conditions across the northern tier, may be contributing, and those pressures could fade as the season turns. For brokers, the lesson from August still applies: price the lane, not the national average.
Class 8 Carrier Authority Trends
Key takeaway: Entries reached a multi-year high, though revocations rose as well.
October recorded 5,164 new or reinstated carrier authorities, the highest monthly total since 2023. Revocations also rose to 4,275, leaving a net gain of 889.
With rates 40% to 46% above year-ago levels, the incentive to enter the market remains strong. At the same time, rising revocations suggest not every new or returning carrier is staying. It is too early to say whether net additions will hold up long enough to ease capacity and weigh on rates, so this is a trend to watch rather than a signal to act on yet.
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