BulkLoads Reports Bulk Freight Rates Climbed 8.8% in May 2026 as Volume Contracted and Diesel Costs Rose

Per-mile rates hit a $5.08 median while volume cooled. The full breakdown across 26,439 verified loads.

SPRINGFIELD, MO, UNITED STATES, June 2, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- BulkLoads, a verified bulk freight network and intelligence platform, today released its May 2026 Bulk Freight Market Update. The report shows median per-mile rates reached $5.06 across 33,551 verified loads from 47 origin states, an 8.8% increase versus April 2026 and $0.81 above the trailing 12-month median.

Total load volume contracted 8.0% month-over-month. According to the report, the combination of rising rates and falling volume reflects capacity tightening faster than freight demand is easing, a dynamic that has been building across the bulk freight sector for several months.

"Rates are climbing because available trucks are getting harder to find in the lanes shippers actually need," said John F. Calloway, Growth Architect, Enterprise at BulkLoads. "For shippers and carriers booking loads today, pricing data from 60 days ago is already stale."

Corn Leads Volume and Rate Growth
Corn was the highest-volume product on the BulkLoads platform in May with 2,923 loads. Its median per-mile rate finished at $5.13, up 7.5% month-over-month and 30.2% over the trailing 12 months. Soybean Meal posted a 16.1% rate increase for the month, and Sand led all single-product moves at +20.9%. On the softer side, Agg Base rates declined 5.9%, the largest single-product drop of the month. Feed Ingredients was the only major commodity group to post a rate decline, finishing at $3.73 per mile, down 0.8%.

Short-Haul Intrastate Lanes Dominate
The three highest-volume corridors in May were all intrastate moves: Oklahoma to Oklahoma (2,758 loads), Kansas to Kansas (2,283 loads), and Indiana to Indiana (2,128 loads). Together they accounted for 21% of the month's total flow. Median haul length came in at 138 miles. Short-haul rates outpaced long-haul rates by a 3.5% ratio shift, another indicator that capacity is tightening near origin markets.

Diesel Adds Pressure on Rate Floors
Rising diesel prices reinforced upward pressure on rates throughout May. The U.S. average for on-highway diesel reached $5.52 per gallon, up 3.2% month-over-month, 45.0% over three months, and 60.0% year over year, based on Energy Information Administration data cited in the report. Fuel is the second-largest variable cost for bulk carriers, and sustained fuel inflation continues to push rate floors higher across regions.

Regional Highlights
South Central origins (Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico) posted the strongest regional move, with rates up 15.7% month-over-month and 44.2% over six months. Midwest origins (the corn-belt states) climbed 8.6% for the month and 17.6% over six months. West origins softened, easing 1.9% month-over-month.

Composite momentum gauges in the report show volume momentum at +12.2%, rate momentum at +10.4%, and capacity tightness at +3.5% when comparing the trailing three months to the prior three.

About the Report
The Bulk Freight Market Update is a monthly intelligence briefing from BulkLoads covering verified bulk freight activity across the United States. Rate medians exclude statistical outliers and very short hauls to reflect representative market conditions. The May 2026 edition reflects final data through May 31, 2026.

BulkLoads Insights extends the monthly report into a live, interactive platform offering rate-quoting tools, lane analysis, and fuel-adjusted estimates across every commodity in the network. The platform is available at bulkfreightinsights.com.

About BulkLoads
BulkLoads operates a verified bulk freight network connecting shippers and carriers across agricultural, aggregate, and industrial commodities. Through its Bulk Freight Intelligence platform, the company delivers market data and rating tools designed to bring transparency to bulk freight pricing. More information is available at bulkloads.com.

Web: bulkfreightinsights.com

John F. Calloway
BulkLoads
+1 417-522-6740
john.c@bulkloads.com
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