Truckload spot rates spiked before Memorial Day, then cooled fast

By AI, Created 4:46 PM UTC, May 26, 2026, /AGP/ – Cargoos says U.S. truckload spot rates jumped to $3.73 per mile on May 23 before sliding back into the $2.80 range after Memorial Day. The brief swing shows how quickly truck capacity can tighten and why average rates can mask short-term freight risk.

Why it matters: - Shippers can face sudden cost spikes even when the broader freight market looks stable. - The holiday surge showed that short-lived capacity shortages can move spot pricing fast. - Cargoos says average rates can hide the risk of urgent freight during compressed shipping windows.

What happened: - Truckload spot rates reached $3.73 per mile on May 23 ahead of Memorial Day. - Rates then fell back into the $2.80 range after the holiday. - Cargoos tied the swing to a holiday-driven capacity crunch rather than a lasting freight boom. - Artur Gronus, CEO of Cargoos Logistics, said: “Capacity tightened fast before the holiday, and rates moved with it.” - Gronus said: “The trucks came back, and the market relaxed.”

The details: - Many drivers paused operations, delayed dispatch, or stayed off the road before the holiday weekend. - Shippers rushed freight ahead of warehouse closures, customer deadlines, and post-holiday backlogs. - The combination created fewer available trucks and more urgent freight. - Cargoos said the quick drop after Memorial Day points to temporary capacity withdrawal, not sustained demand growth. - Cargoos said the market can still see sharp rate moves even without a major nationwide freight surge. - The company pointed to the limited amount of extra capacity available when demand compresses suddenly. - The release cites Yahoo Finance and DAT Freight & Analytics as sources.

Between the lines: - The move suggests the freight market is more fragile around holidays than spot-rate averages imply. - Temporary disruptions in driver availability can matter as much as broader freight demand. - For carriers, brief windows of tight capacity can create pricing power. - For shippers, the same windows can produce unexpected cost exposure and service risk.

What’s next: - Freight buyers will likely keep watching holiday and deadline-driven periods for similar capacity squeezes. - Spot-rate volatility may remain a feature of a market with limited slack. - Cargoos says shippers should plan for abrupt changes rather than rely only on average rate benchmarks.

The bottom line: - A few days of holiday congestion were enough to send truckload spot rates sharply higher, then right back down.