Tender rejections just jumped, rates are wobbling instead of sliding, and the market is starting to look less like “winter lull” and more like a reset.
On this week’s episode of Transfix Take, host Jenni Ruiz sits down with Justin Maze (NFI Industries) to break down what’s driving the sudden capacity squeeze, what it means for RFP season, and where pricing is likely to land as we head into late February.
In this episode, we cover:
• Why tender rejections climbed to ~14% and what’s behind the tightening (including high-visibility enforcement and safety actions that can take capacity off the road)
• The current national average linehaul sitting around $2.10/mile (lengths of haul 200+ miles), plus the added pressure of rising fuel
• Fresh retail spending signals and what they could mean for inventory strategy and freight demand
• A weather watch shift to the West Coast, as California storms bring flooding, mudslides, and pass closures risk
• Regional rate moves and where volatility is cooling vs. lingering
Plus: we “dust off the crystal ball” to talk where tender rejections may head next week as negotiations and new rates get set for the 2026 baseline.
Subscribe for weekly market updates, and if you’re in the thick of RFPs right now, this one’s your mid-Feb pulse check.
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