June week 3

BIG MIKE’S VOYAGER FREIGHT & RATES REPORT | JUNE 2026

Week of June 15 – June 21, 2026

If you spend enough time on Facebook trucking groups, you'd think the freight market has officially entered hospice care.

According to the internet, brokers are stealing everything, rates are under $2.00 a mile everywhere, and apparently the only people making money are hauling secret government freight that nobody can ever prove exists.

So let's compare internet trucking with... actual trucking.

This week Voyager's fleet averaged $3.67 per loaded mile.

No Photoshop.
No motivational memes.
No "my cousin's friend hauled one load for $12 a mile."

Just settlement sheets.

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 Freight Unicorn of the Week

Wentworth, GA → Arcadia, FL

397 miles

$2,500

$6.30 per loaded mile

That wasn't the only crazy one either.

Here are just a few loads our dispatch team booked this week:

• Church Hill, TN → Milford, OH
299 miles
$1,800
$6.02/mi

• Covington, VA → Catawba, NC
236 miles
$1,400
$5.93/mi

• Hawkins, TX → Lafayette, LA
312 miles
$1,800
$5.77/mi

• Williamsburg, KY → Chillicothe, OH
263 miles
$1,500
$5.70/mi

• Garysburg, NC → Bethel, PA
362 miles
$2,000
$5.52/mi

• Lockport, IL → Marquette, MI
402 miles
$2,200
$5.47/mi

• Atlanta, GA → Oldsmar, FL
473 miles
$2,350
$4.97/mi

• Panama City, FL → Shelby, NC
505 miles
$2,433
$4.82/mi

Notice a pattern?

Short and medium-haul freight keeps paying.

Meanwhile, everyone keeps chasing 2,000-mile unicorns because somebody on YouTube told them that's where the money is.

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Longer Runs Were Still Strong

Not every good load was short.

Take a look:

• North Collins, NY → Haines City, FL
1,201 miles
$5,635
$4.69/mi

• Macon, GA → Plattsburgh, NY
1,190 miles
$5,000
$4.20/mi

• Meridian, MS → New Columbia, PA
1,009 miles
$4,150
$4.11/mi

• Albuquerque, NM → Port St. Lucie, FL
1,752 miles
$6,200
$3.54/mi

• Morristown, TN → Payson, UT
1,839 miles
$4,900
$3.11/mi

Could they have paid more?

Sure.

Did they still make sense when combined with reload planning?

Absolutely.

The best dispatchers don't judge one load.

They judge the entire week.

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The Numbers Don't Lie

Here's something else that jumped out.

This week alone we booked loads paying:

- 6 loads over $5.50 per mile
- 22 loads over $4.50 per mile
- More than 70 loads over $3.50 per mile
- Fleet average: $3.67 per loaded mile

Now compare that to what the average Facebook trucking expert tells you is possible.

Exactly.

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Big Mike's Observation

The freight market isn't "good."

It's selective.

The difference between making $2.30 a mile and $3.70 a mile usually isn't luck.

It's dispatch.

It's relationships.

It's knowing which brokers consistently pay.

It's refusing cheap freight when possible.

It's planning tomorrow before today's load even delivers.

Professional dispatch can easily swing an owner-operator's revenue by thousands of dollars per week.

That isn't theory.

That's what we watch happen every single day.

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Freight Myth of the Week

"I'll just book my own loads."

Sure.

You can also cut your own hair.

Sometimes it'll even look okay.

But professional dispatch isn't just clicking "Book Now" on DAT.

It's knowing which brokers are worth calling.

Which ones negotiate.

Which freight is fake.

Which reload is waiting two hours away.

Which cheap load actually turns into a fantastic week.

Experience compounds.

Just like mistakes do.

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Bottom Line

Was this the greatest freight market we've ever seen?

No.

Was it another profitable week for disciplined owner-operators?

Absolutely.

While half the industry spent the week arguing on Facebook...

Our dispatchers spent the week negotiating.

One group collected likes.

The other collected settlements.

I'll let you decide which business model you prefer.

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 Join Voyager Nation

If you're an owner-operator who's tired of wondering whether you're leaving money on the table every week, maybe it's time to see what experienced dispatch looks like.

At Voyager Nation, we are a 100% owner-operator carrier built by people who've actually lived this business—not corporate executives who've never backed into a dock.

 75% of the gross (85% if you bring your own trailer)

 No forced dispatch

 Experienced dispatchers who negotiate—not just book freight

 Dry van only

 Transparent settlements

 Voyager Nation Inc.
3180 Mulford Rd.
Mulberry, FL 33860

 863-342-5171

www.voyagernation.com

If you're serious about making more money—not just talking about it—we'd love to show you what your truck is really capable of.