News · Insurance & risk
Truckload Rates Up 10% in September, Cass Index Shows
Truckload rates rose 10.1% year over year in September, the Cass index shows, and shipments grew for a second month after 42 months of declines.
Questions about how this affects your trucks? Talk to a licensed agent who ran his own authority.
What happened
Truckload rates kept climbing in September. The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index rose 10.1% compared with September last year. FreightWaves reported it on Oct. 13, 2026.
Linehaul is the price of moving the load itself, without fuel or extra charges. The Cass index tracks it from real freight bills.
Here are the main numbers for September:
- Linehaul rates: up 10.1% from a year ago and up 0.6% from August.
- Best in years: the index hit its highest reading in four years.
- Long streak: it was the 21st month in a row above the year before.
- Shipments: up 1.9% from a year ago and up 2.3% from August.
That shipment number matters. It was the second month in a row of growth. Before that, shipments fell for 42 months straight.
What it means for owner-operators
This is good news for the people who move the freight. Rates are higher than last year, and the number of loads is growing again.
The report gave one detail worth knowing. Spot rates have slowed a little from week to week. But contract rates, which cover a much larger share of freight, are still moving up.
There is a cost side too. Diesel was 68% higher in September than a year earlier, the report said. Total freight spending rose 20.4%. So part of what shippers pay goes straight into the fuel tank.
A better market is a good time to make your business stronger. Brokers and shippers want carriers they can trust when trucks get harder to find.
What to do next
- Know your real cost per mile, with today's diesel price. Then you know which loads pay.
- Ask your regular customers about contract rates. The report says that market is still adjusting higher.
- Keep your papers ready. Brokers will ask for your certificate of insurance before they give you a load. Learn how a same-day COI can help you book faster.
- Review your coverage as you take on more or bigger loads. Our guide trucking insurance coverage explained shows what each part does.
Good months do not last forever, so use this one to get ready for the next one.
Original report
Written by TCZ Insurance Agency in our own words. Read the original for the full story.