Freight lane

A freight lane is a route between an origin and a destination — a city, region or state pair — for a given type of equipment, and the unit transport is bought and priced in. The USDA put refrigerated trucks from the Pacific Northwest to Chicago at $2.42 a mile, or $4,846 a load, in early 2026.

How lanes are drawn

A lane can be as narrow as one plant to one store or as wide as one state to another. The US General Services Administration buys by state pairs — a carrier that offers a rate agrees to serve all points within each origin state and destination state — and calls a recurring route a standing route order: two or more shipments a month of specific items between specified points. The USDA reports reefer rates for 48–53 foot trailers from an origin shipping area to a destination receiving city. Equipment is part of the lane: a dry van and a reefer on the same road are two lanes.

Worked example: four lanes from one origin

The distance column divides the load rate by the mile rate. Short lanes cost far more per mile, because loading, unloading and waiting are paid for whatever the distance; and two lanes of similar length can differ by direction and season. The USDA's national average for 501–1,500 mile hauls was $2.56 a mile in the same quarter.

The mistake people make

Comparing lane rates that don't cover the same work. The USDA's weekly rates are spot sales per load, including brokers' fees, and exclude multi-pickup and multi-drop shipments — so a contract quote with three stops compared against them looks expensive when it isn't. Price each lane with its stops, equipment and accessorials, as a freight RFQ does.