Reefer rates per mile: current numbers, what moves them, and your minimum

Reefer rate references, dated

Every number here has a date and a source, because a rate without a date is noise. These were checked on October 21, 2026.

What the table says: national reefer rates in October 2026 were near the top of their historical range. DAT's October 1 reefer report put spot linehaul about 27% above its nine-year seasonal average.

National reefer rates vs your lane

National averages blend every reefer load posted in the country. A load out of a short region in season can pay far above the average; a load into a dead market can pay well below. Use the national number as a temperature check on the market, not as a price for your load.

DAT reefer rates and where to find them

DAT publishes weekly national averages for reefer, van and flatbed on its Trendlines page and in its blog, and outlets like AJOT republish the weekly numbers. Lane-level averages come with paid DAT One plans: according to DAT's carrier plan page in October 2026, the Enhanced plan ($149 a month) includes 15-day lane rate averages and Pro ($169 a month) includes 7-day averages.

USDA produce lane rates

For produce, USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service publishes the Specialty Crops National Truck Rate Report every week: open-market per-load rates for 48-53 ft reefers from the main shipping areas to major cities, broker fees included, with a truck availability rating for each region. As an example of what it shows, the report for February 10-11, 2026 listed Florida to New York at $4,900-$5,100 per load while Florida trucks were short, and Nogales, Arizona to New York at $8,100-$8,300.

Reefer spot rates vs contract rates

Spot rates are one-off prices for loads booked now, mostly through brokers and load boards. Contract rates are agreed for a lane over months, usually between shippers and larger carriers or brokers. Spot moves fast in both directions; contract moves slowly. Most owner-operators live on spot freight, which is why the weekly averages matter so much.

What moves reefer rates: seasonality

Produce seasons. Florida, Arizona and South Texas ship heavily in winter and spring, California most of the year with a summer peak, the Southeast in spring and summer, and Michigan and the Northwest in summer and fall. As regions come on, trucks get short there and rates rise. DAT's October 2026 report described rates easing "as the produce rush cools."

Holidays. Food demand builds ahead of Thanksgiving and the year-end holidays, and the days around holidays have fewer drivers working.

Weather and disruptions. Storms that shut down a growing region, freeze events, and inspection blitzes that pull trucks off the road all tighten capacity for a few days.

Fuel. The fuel surcharge moves with diesel prices. DAT attributed most of the small decline in mid-October 2026 rates to lower diesel prices rather than weaker demand.

Which reefer loads pay the most

There's no list of "highest paying reefer loads" that holds from week to week, but the loads that pay best usually share a few traits:

• Out of a short region in season. When USDA rates a region's truck availability as "shortage," posted rates out of it climb.
• Long hauls to the Northeast. Lanes from the West and South into New York, Boston and Philadelphia are long, often late-delivering, and price accordingly.
• Hard to cover. Same-day pickups, weekend deliveries, multi-stops and loads with tight temperature tolerances pay for the inconvenience.
• Into a market with good reloads. Not more money on this load, but more money on the next one.

High pay often comes with long waits, early appointments or deadhead. Price the whole trip, not the line on the board.

Reefer fuel in your cost per mile

Reefer fuel is the cost dry van carriers don't have. A trailer unit burns fuel by the hour: EPRI describes diesel units as burning up to about a gallon an hour, and frozen loads in hot weather burn the most. Here's an example of what it adds:

Nine cents a mile doesn't sound like much until it's the difference between a load that pays and one that doesn't. How long a tank lasts and how mode and setpoint change burn are in reefer temperature settings and run time; the tax side is in what is reefer fuel?.

Setting your minimum reefer rate

Your minimum rate per loaded mile is:

(your cost per mile x all miles including deadhead + reefer fuel + the profit you want) / loaded miles, then divided by (1 - any percentage fees)

Set it once from your own books and update it when fuel or payments change. Then check every load against it with the reefer rate per mile calculator, which shows the all-in rate, the rate net of reefer fuel, and the profit per hour.

Two habits help: price deadhead into the load that causes it, and look at the delivery market before you accept a high rate into it. More on how the equipment works is in what is a reefer truck?, and how we find and book loads is on our reefer loads page.