Duluth, Grand Junction, Bowling Green, Sioux Falls — pick a market, any market, and it’s up on the day. All three modes, wall to wall green. The weekly slide is real but something is clearly waking up out there.

Grand Junction popped nearly 26% in reefer in one day. Sioux Falls is putting up its best numbers of the summer. And the Plains are sitting on reefer like they own it. Here’s the full September 28 breakdown, powered by a morning snapshot of the Spotter Index.

Dry Van Hot Markets: Duluth and California Share the Top

Duluth is back at #1 in dry van — the Midwest reclaimed the top spot after California held it last week. But California isn’t going anywhere — Los Angeles sits at #2, Ontario at #3, Fresno at #4, San Diego at #5. The California corridor and the Midwest are running this board together right now, and neither one is backing down.

The weekly numbers dropped from last week, but here’s what matters: every single market posted a positive daily change. Grand Junction had the biggest single-day move on the dry van board — up nearly 15% in one day, a market that doesn’t usually make headlines but absolutely did today. Las Vegas jumped back into the top six, Buffalo and Grand Rapids are both holding strong in the top eight.

Reno popped nearly 8% on the day. Cleveland jumped nearly 8% too. St. Cloud and Quincy both had big daily moves pushing 9%. The Midwest is firing on all cylinders even as the weekly trend drifts lower.

Avoid: Miami, Brooklyn, Denver, and Albuquerque are near the bottom. Jacksonville and Lakeland remain the softest spots on the board.

Reefer Hot Markets: Sioux Falls Keeps Cooking, Grand Junction Goes Haywire

Sioux Falls at #1 — and posting its strongest reading of the summer. Again. Rapid City jumped to #2 in a big move up from last week. Omaha at #3, Spokane holding at #4, Fargo at #5. The Plains and Pacific Northwest are running the top of the reefer board together and have been for weeks.

But the number that jumps off the page this week is Grand Junction, CO — up nearly 26% in a single day. That’s not a typo. It’s the biggest individual move on the entire dataset this week, across all three modes, and it’s not a market anyone had circled. Whether it holds or snaps back next week is the question — but you don’t see numbers like that very often.

Duluth had the second-biggest day on the reefer board at nearly 15%. Jefferson City popped nearly 9%. Winchester, VA jumped over 10%. The Midwest and mid-South are having big days even if they’re not at the top of the weekly leaderboard.

Pendleton at #9, Portland at #16, Seattle at #20 — the Pacific Northwest is still very much in the reefer conversation heading into fall.

On the flip side: San Antonio dropped 7.4% on the day after posting big gains last week — a snapback. Greensboro fell nearly 6%. Albuquerque dropped nearly 3%.

Avoid: Miami, Jacksonville, and Lakeland are at the absolute bottom of the reefer board. Miami is posting the lowest reading in the entire dataset. Florida reefer has been a dead zone all summer.

Flatbed Hot Markets: Bowling Green Takes the Crown Back, N. Charleston Pushes In

Bowling Green just reclaimed #1 in flatbed from Louisville — Kentucky still owns the top two, but the order flipped. Louisville drops to #2, and N. Charleston jumped to #3, pushing back in after slipping out of the top three in recent weeks. The Southeast is making its presence felt again.

Huntington, WV at #4, Memphis at #5, Lexington at #6 — the Mid-South and Appalachian corridor are stacked. Decatur, Knoxville, South Bend, and Cincinnati all in the top ten. The flatbed board is as deep and consistent as it’s been all summer.

Jefferson City had the biggest single-day move on the flatbed board, jumping just over 14% in one day. North Platte popped nearly 13.5% on the flatbed side too. San Antonio jumped 7.6%. Macon, GA gained over 7.5%. There’s heat building in markets that don’t usually headline.

The overall flatbed market barely moved week over week — same as it’s been for months. Steady, reliable, the most consistent of the three modes.

What Is the Spotter Index?

The data in this breakdown comes from the Spotter Index, which measures profitability per hour by freight market in real time. It accounts for rate, load characteristics, and time — giving a cleaner read on where trucks actually make money compared to rate-per-mile alone. The snapshot used here was pulled on the morning of September 28.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the hottest freight markets this week?

For the week of September 28, Duluth leads dry van with Los Angeles, Ontario, Fresno, and San Diego rounding out the top five — Midwest and California sharing the board. Reefer is led by Sioux Falls, SD posting its strongest reading of the summer, with Rapid City, SD jumping to #2. Flatbed is back to Bowling Green, KY at #1, Louisville at #2, and N. Charleston, SC returning to the top three.

Why is every market green on the day?

Wall to wall positive daily changes across dry van, reefer, and flatbed is unusual and worth paying attention to. When every market gains on the same day, it typically signals a broad tightening of capacity relative to loads — either freight volume picked up, trucks pulled out of the market, or both. The weekly numbers are softer but the daily board suggests momentum is building.

What happened in Grand Junction, CO in reefer?

Grand Junction posted nearly a 26% single-day gain in reefer — the biggest move on the entire dataset this week. Sharp moves like this are typically driven by a sudden capacity squeeze in a market, where loads outpace available trucks quickly. Whether it holds into next week or snaps back will tell us whether this is a trend or a one-day blip.

Is the reefer market recovering?

The overall reefer market pulled back from last week’s levels on a weekly basis, but the daily board is broadly positive. Sioux Falls continues to post its strongest readings of the summer, and the Plains and Pacific Northwest are both sustaining elevated demand into early fall. The daily green across the board is the most encouraging signal in weeks.

How often is this market report published?

This breakdown is published weekly, based on a morning snapshot of the Spotter Index. Subscribe to the newsletter to get it in your inbox every Monday before you dispatch.

Where to Run Your Trucks This Week

Dry van: Midwest and California, both. Duluth, LA, Ontario, Fresno — the board is green and the daily signal is strong. Grand Junction is worth a look if you have capacity out west.

Reefer: Plains and Pacific Northwest. Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Omaha, Spokane. And keep an eye on Grand Junction after today’s monster move.

Flatbed: Bowling Green and the Kentucky corridor, plus N. Charleston pushing back into the top three. The Southeast and Mid-South are stacked. The board is green top to bottom.

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Market data powered by the Spotter Index. Real-time profitability data, snapped fresh this morning.