Reefer Rates: $2.77 Is Linehaul, Not the Full Payment

Reefer linehaul reaches $2.77 per mile. DAT excludes fuel; compare the full route before accepting another load.

Reefer Rates: $2.77 Is Linehaul, Not the Full Payment

AI-generated editorial illustration; not documentary photography.

Start with the rate's definition

DAT's November 9 reefer report puts national spot linehaul at $2.77 per mile for the week ending November 6, up nine cents week over week. Its figures exclude fuel unless stated otherwise. That definition is the first item to preserve when a carrier compares the headline with an offered load.

For this load review, keep three questions on separate lines: what the market reference measures, what the customer offers and what your own trip requires. A figure can be correctly reported and still be the wrong basis for the decision in front of you. Our worksheet below is a proposed way to organize those questions; it is not a DAT quote for your business or a substitute for the actual assignment documents.

Ask what the offer includes

Before comparing an offered amount with a benchmark, identify whether the offer is linehaul only or includes a separately stated fuel component. Keep other agreed charges on their own lines. If a dispatcher, broker or customer uses a number without defining its components, the comparison is incomplete until those components are clear.

This is an editorial checklist, not a claim about a specific contract or a universal payment rule. Obtain the actual terms for the assignment under consideration. An explanation given in a conversation is easier to review later when the same basis, distance and amount appear in the written record.

A calculation with the empty distance visible

For illustration only, suppose a load has 1,000 loaded miles and a linehaul amount of $2,770. That is $2.77 for each loaded mile. Now suppose the operator also expects 100 empty miles associated with that assignment. Dividing the same linehaul amount by 1,100 total miles gives approximately $2.52 per total mile.

This hypothetical example does not quote a live load, add a fuel surcharge or predict the carrier's profit. It shows why two rates can describe the same payment while using different mileage denominators. A comparison is more useful when the worksheet explicitly states which miles are included and which amount is being divided.

If the empty distance changes, update that assumption. Do not quietly change the loaded mileage to make the average look better. Keep a separate record of the route planned and the route actually completed; a forecast made before dispatch and a completed-trip result should not share the same label.

Refrigerated service needs assignment-specific details

Ask for the appointment information, required service and equipment details, and the written instructions that apply to the load. This article does not establish a temperature setting, handling procedure or equipment suitability for any commodity. Those decisions require the shipment's actual specifications and the responsible parties' verified instructions.

For the business comparison, write down which time and expense items are known and which remain unresolved. A missing answer is not a zero-cost item. If a payment depends on documentation or another condition, record that condition rather than treating the payment as certain before it is earned and supported.

Separate market direction from the acceptance decision

A weekly market report can help frame a question, such as whether the quoted basis matches the equipment category and period being compared. It cannot finish the route review. The proposed destination, next available assignment, empty repositioning and the operator's own documented costs remain specific to that business.

Likewise, a headline increase should not replace the previous trip's records with an assumed improvement. Compare the actual payment and completed distance first. Then review the expenses and any outstanding amount. An increase in a market indicator does not establish that an individual operator collected more money or retained a larger margin.

What to save with the load review

  • The date, equipment category and fuel treatment of the benchmark.
  • The written offered payment and its separately identified components.
  • Loaded and empty mileage assumptions, with the basis identified.
  • Appointment and service instructions that still need confirmation.
  • Conditions and documents required for any additional payment.
  • The completed-trip records used to replace the original assumptions.

Use the original DAT report below to check the period and linehaul definition. Then compare the offered assignment on its own terms. The useful outcome is a decision supported by visible assumptions and documents, rather than treating a national number as the amount every refrigerated load should pay.

Original source: DAT Freight & Analytics.