REPOWR Releases Latest State of Trailer Utilization Report, Revealing Market Shifts and Growing Cost of Idle Equipment

H1 2026 data shows trailer demand accelerating faster than supply, hot markets shifting, and same-day fulfillment becoming the industry standard.

CHATTANOOGA, TN, UNITED STATES, September 15, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — REPOWR, the industry’s leading collaborative trailer-sharing marketplace and Trailer Optimization Platform, released The State of Trailer Utilization H1 2026, its data report on trailer availability, utilization patterns, and freight network behavior across the United States, published six months after the inaugural edition. The report draws on 23,816 marketplace reservations and provides the most current, transaction-based analysis of U.S. trailer utilization available, filling a gap left by the Federal Highway Administration’s suspended MV-11 trailer data table.

The H1 2026 report reveals a freight market under increasing strain: operating costs outpacing inflation and same-day trailer demand now the norm rather than the exception. Against this backdrop, REPOWR also announced commercially available general access to TOP, the Trailer Optimization Platform – the industry’s first capacity-planning and repositioning automation solution purpose-built for trailer networks.

Key Findings

– Operating costs hit a new high and outpaced inflation. Trucking’s average cost per mile reached $2.336 in 2025, up 3.4% year over year. Excluding fuel, costs rose 4.2%, exceeding consumer inflation by 1.5 percentage points, according to ATRI’s 2025 Operational Cost of Trucking study published July 2026. Every idle trailer is a more expensive liability than it was twelve months ago.
– Same-day fulfillment is now the industry standard. 77.2% of REPOWR trailer reservations in H1 2026 were fulfilled same-day, with an average of 9 hours from booking to pickup, down from 10.3 hours in 2025 and 11.9 hours in 2024. The market is moving faster than most traditional procurement cycles.
– The hot market map has shifted. Dallas, TX claimed the #1 booking market position for the first time, rising from #4 in the inaugural report. Lakeland, FL and Allentown, PA each climbed four spots. Phoenix, Jacksonville, and Ontario entered the top 10 as new entrants, reflecting a meaningful geographic shift in freight demand concentration.
– Trailer network imbalance is structural, not seasonal. 83.3% of REPOWR rentals in H1 2026 ended in a different market than where they began, the highest directional flow rate in REPOWR’s history, and a figure that has increased every year since the platform launched. Reactive repositioning costs fleets an average of $500 per move before staff time is counted.
– Dry van daily rates have risen 16% since 2024. Average dry van rental rates climbed from $16.93/day in 2024 to $19.63/day in H1 2026, even as reservation duration has compressed from 45 days to 35 days, signaling that operators are paying more for faster, more tactical access to equipment.

“The industry has been managing trailer operations the same way for twenty years – spreadsheets, static dashboards, and reactive moves that cost more than anyone wants to admit. This report quantifies what that’s actually costing fleets and brokers in 2026. The data is clear: the market is moving faster, costs are higher, and the operators who have a system built for execution are the ones who will come out ahead.”
— Chris Hines, CEO, REPOWR

Introducing TOP: The Trailer Optimization Platform

The H1 2026 report also marks the commercial availability of TOP (the Trailer Optimization Platform), launched by REPOWR in March 2026. TOP is the industry’s first capacity-planning and repositioning automation solution purpose-built for trailer networks. Rather than replacing existing transportation management systems, TOP layers on top of current fleet infrastructure, pulling daily trailer data, locations, and telematics to automatically monitor utilization against operator-defined targets and execute repositioning opportunities through REPOWR’s marketplace.

“The reactive reposition is the clearest signal that trailer operations haven’t been automated yet,” said Matt Harb, Chief Product Officer at REPOWR. “When an imbalance finally becomes visible, usually days after it develops, it’s already cost you a load commitment or a customer relationship. TOP closes that loop automatically.”

“Brokers and fleet owners have been asking for better trailer intelligence for years. This report gives them the market context, and TOP gives them the execution layer to act on it. That combination, data plus automation, is what moves the needle on trailer utilization.”
— Todd Waldron, Chief Commercial Officer, REPOWR

Report Availability

The State of Trailer Utilization 2026 is available for free download at repowr.com/state-of-trailer-utilization-2026.

About REPOWR
REPOWR is a logistics platform for accessible trailer capacity. Thousands of trusted carriers, shippers, 3PLs, leasing companies, and OEMs collaborate with us to facilitate over 20,000 interchanges every year. The REPOWR marketplace has unlocked over 60,000 trailers and facilitated over $30,000,000 in earnings for fleets to date. Now, with TOP (Trailer Optimization Platform), REPOWR goes further by automatically identifying network imbalances and executing moves to fix them. With REPOWR, you can share more, move more, and earn more. Learn more at REPOWR.com.

For press inquiries, contact laura@repowr.com.

Laura McDaniel
REPOWR
+16124990454 ext.
laura@repowr.com
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn

Media gallery