Dry van
A dry van is an enclosed, unrefrigerated trailer used for general palletised freight, and it is the most common trailer type in US truckload transportation.
Last reviewed · by the fleetchart dispatch desk
Dry van is the default equipment for non-perishable, non-oversized freight. It has the largest load pool and therefore the most competitive rates.
Because the equipment is inexpensive relative to reefer or specialised trailers, dry van operations have lower fixed costs and correspondingly thinner margins per mile.
Because the equipment is cheap and the load pool is enormous, dry van is also the most competitive segment in truckload. Rates respond fastest to capacity swings, and there is little to differentiate one carrier from another except service and price. Carriers who want to escape that pressure generally do it by specialising — reefer, flatbed, hazmat or dedicated freight — rather than by trying to win on dry van rates.