Data Confidence: 99% — High. Derived from the five governed weekday confidence states, all 99%.

FPI closed at 51 — Elevated, ▼ −7 points WoW. The Monday–Friday operating path was 58 → 56 → 56 → 53 → 51. Pressure eased steadily into the close, although fuel costs and operating friction kept the reading Elevated.

Overall EPPI closed at 21 — Low, ▼ −11 points WoW. Its path was 32 → 30 → 30 → 21 → 21. The sharpest deterioration came late in the week; Friday did not establish a rebound.

These are governed weekday states, including approved opening/continuity values—not five independent new national-rate releases.

⛽ Diesel: $6.382/gal • 🟢 ▼ −14.7¢ WoW, effective Sep 28. At 7.0 MPG, tractor fuel costs 91.17¢/mile, or $911.71 per 1,000 miles. That is $21 less per 1,000 miles than the prior weekly benchmark.

The saving helped while underlying freight pricing stayed flat to lower. Flatbed retained the strongest relative closing pricing signal; reefer finished weakest.

Oct 2 completed close; comparable WoW changes:

Friday’s energy decline followed the G7 reserve-release plan, but the weekly picture was mixed. Brent still finished higher on a same-contract comparison. The plan covers up to 100 million barrels of crude and refined products over four months, with diesel prioritized early; delivery and retail pass-through still need to happen. G7 coverage.

Fuel remains an alert item. A futures decline gives carriers something to watch; the next pump-price reading determines the new cost assumption.

Latest complete governed rate package: week ending Sep 27. Common FSC: $0.92/mile, ▼ −$0.03 WoW. Normalized All-In RPM equals Linehaul RPM plus that common FSC; it is a benchmark, not a guarantee of the fuel recovery included in an actual spot offer.

The reefer report published Oct 1 completes the package that was still partial in Wednesday’s and Friday’s publication cutoffs. Mode reports cover their documented prior-week windows. Ratios below are Latest Verified LTR, not five-day averages.

Normalized All-In RPM: $3.63 • Linehaul RPM: $2.71 • 🔴 ▼ −$0.02 Linehaul WoW • Latest Verified LTR: 18.26

The new report replaces the carried reefer benchmark. Friday field feedback described a slower weekend, with WI/MI/IN comparatively busy. Pacific Northwest produce remained a selective source of support in the published report. California, Arizona, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas received softer reefer OPS adjustments against Friday’s maps. A busy pocket warrants a lane check before a long empty move. DAT Reefer.

Normalized All-In RPM: $3.09 • Linehaul RPM: $2.17 • → Flat Linehaul WoW • Latest Verified LTR: 11.40

The national weekly linehaul benchmark held steady, while newer field evidence weakened. Texas, Florida, Georgia and the broader Southeast were difficult places to turn freight availability into acceptable money. A flat weekly average does not guarantee a stable quote on the next load.

Normalized All-In RPM: $3.51 • Linehaul RPM: $2.59 • 🔴 ▼ −$0.01 Linehaul WoW • Latest Verified LTR: 41.38

Flatbed held the best relative EPPI position, yet both its rate benchmark and forward signal softened. The comparison supports careful lane selection, with unloading time and the next pickup included in the price discussion.

Closing equipment signals:

All three finished in the Low band. That points to limited broad pricing pressure, with flatbed strongest only relative to the other modes. A reversal needs repeated improvement in accepted offers and buyer urgency across more than a few favorable pickups.

Our Oct 1 operating feedback showed no noticeable disruption, tightness or paid premium, and subsequent field feedback confirmed operations were unaffected.

Overdrive documented individual owners parking. Post-event coverage reported no mass shutdown, but repeated examples from earlier reporting are not independent participation counts. The research did not establish a nationwide operational impact.

For carriers, the useful evidence remains cancellations, replacement difficulty and actual paid premiums. The date itself supplied no reason to assume stronger pricing.

Lower diesel expense improved the newest matched comparison, but reefer and flatbed surrendered some of that benefit through lower linehaul. Van retained the full fuel-only improvement because its linehaul held.

The consequence is modest breathing room rather than a rate-led recovery. A spot quote still needs enough actual compensation to cover fuel, empty miles and the truck’s other costs.

A softer Midwest and comparatively busy Great Lakes reefer pockets existed at the same time. That difference matters when choosing a destination: regional activity is too uneven to treat an entire broad market as dependable.

Friday’s slow-weekend feedback favors confirmed freight and realistic release times. The strength must survive the outbound call, the appointment check and the cost of reaching the pickup.

The week exposed two different forms of relief: lower fuel expense and a better freight offer. Only the first clearly improved in the latest matched package. Public map activity continued to look more promising than the price buyers would accept.

Latest completed comparison: Sep 24–30, using the now-complete matched source package. At 7.0 MPG, tractor fuel expense fell 2.10¢/mile. After the comparable linehaul changes:

Reefer’s two-cent linehaul decline used almost all of the fuel saving. The completed three-cycle view shows why one easier fill-up is not a recovery:

At the same 1,000-mile scale, the cumulative change versus the starting baseline is −$89.29 reefer, −$99.29 van and −$129.29 flatbed.

This compares changes in rounded linehaul benchmarks with changes in tractor fuel cost. It is not actual profit or operating margin. Actual FSC receipts, reefer-unit fuel, deadhead, waiting and other costs are excluded. Cumulative results use unrounded arithmetic before display rounding.

Truck time is the next test. A quote can improve per mile while leaving the equipment committed for longer. Appointment availability, probable detention and the time to the next earning load belong in the same decision. Payments, driver costs, insurance and office overhead continue during the wait; uncollected detention does not reimburse them.