Vol. 1 · No. 155·Thursday, June 4, 2026·Filed by the Off Ramp Desk · Atlanta
Spot van breaks $2.31/mi — first time above $2.30 since Nov '22. Texas reefer pulls capacity from both coasts. PADD 5 diesel widens to $4.42 as California refineries run hot. Midwest spot capacity is loose; everywhere else is tight.
DAT national van prints $2.31/mi this morning — the first time above $2.30 since November 2022. Seven lanes are doing the heavy lifting. The structural setup that produced this break is unlikely to reverse in 2026, and the contract-spot spread now favors carriers in a way procurement teams haven't seen since the post-COVID surge.
By the Off Ramp Desk · Filed Atlanta · Bentonville · 06:00 ET
Outbound McAllen reefer just printed $3.22/mi on a 7-day weighted DAT average — the highest May number since 2018. The pull is so strong that California and Florida reefer carriers are repositioning into South Texas at a pace that's starting to drain the West Coast supply ahead of the Salinas peak. Three lanes to watch.
National load-to-truck ratio holds at 6.7 — but the regional spread is the widest we've measured since June 2022. Texas at 9.4, Pacific NW at 7.8, Southeast at 7.2 — versus Midwest at 3.1 and Mid-Atlantic at 3.8. The carriers that figure out the cross-regional repositioning math first are about to take outsized share.
EIA's Monday print showed national retail diesel at $3.69/gal, off two cents WoW. The headline is benign. Underneath, the PADD 5 (West Coast) spread to PADD 3 (Gulf) widened to $0.73/gal — the biggest in 14 months — as California refinery maintenance and hurricane-season Gulf inventory builds combine. Fuel surcharge passthrough math is breaking down for cross-regional carriers.
18:00 ET · Houston · Long Beach · 5 min read
The Tape · 12 live signals
The Numbers.
Updated 04:55 ET Next refresh 17:00 ET DAT · SONAR · EIA · CBP · BTS
02LB/LA per-move drayage hits $487 — up 2.1% WoW.04:12
03Savannah dwell time drops to 3.1 days after gate-hour expansion.03:42
04Asia import volumes through San Pedro Bay run 9.4% above April '25.03:18
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FLATBED · HEAVY HAUL
Steel Coil Flatbed Holds at $2.74/mi Despite Mill Cuts — The Bifurcated Capacity Story Inside Open-Deck.
Two distinct flatbed markets are now pricing on different curves. Project freight (step-deck, Conestoga, RGN) is tight and rising. Standard 48-ft flatbed is soft and falling. Steel coil from Birmingham holds against mill output cuts. Understanding the split is the only way to bid open-deck capacity into Q3.
BNSF Transcon Velocity Slips to 27.3 mph as Container Volumes Push Hobbs Ramp to 3.4 Days.
AAR week-19 print: BNSF system speed off 0.5 mph WoW, San Bernardino + Hobbs ramps each adding half-day dwell. IPI volumes from Long Beach are growing into the network faster than the railroad can clear it — and intermodal-to-OTR rate compression is reopening for the first time since February.
Laredo Hits Record 15,210 Trucks/Day as Bajío Manufacturers Front-Load Through USMCA Window.
World Trade Bridge northbound volume passed 15,000/day for the first time on record this week. Querétaro and Aguascalientes plants are accelerating shipments north of the border ahead of the 2026 USMCA review window — and Nuevo Laredo southbound wait times are extending into the 12-hour range as a result.
Diesel Holds at $3.69 Nationally But PADD 5 Is at $4.42 — The Regional Spread Is the Story This Week.
EIA's Monday print showed national retail diesel at $3.69/gal, off two cents WoW. The headline is benign. Underneath, the PADD 5 (West Coast) spread to PADD 3 (Gulf) widened to $0.73/gal — the biggest in 14 months — as California refinery maintenance and hurricane-season Gulf inventory builds combine. Fuel surcharge passthrough math is breaking down for cross-regional carriers.
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FTL · Reefer · Produce Season
