AI data centers have soaked up 2 million flatbed truckloads since 2023. That's why steel and precast cost more to ship on every other job
Flatbed and specialized-carrier capacity is being absorbed by AI data center construction, and DAT's SONAR data shows flatbed tender rejection rates spiking above 32% this year. Any project shipping structural steel, precast, or oversized mechanical equipment is competing for the same trucks — and paying more to get them.
Flatbed and specialized-carrier trucking capacity is being pulled toward AI data center construction sites, and it's raising freight costs and delivery risk for every other project competing for the same trucks. DAT's SONAR data shows flatbed tender rejection rates — the share of load requests carriers turn down for better-paying loads — spiking above 32% this year, a level that data shows has occurred only twice in eight years.
What's actually happening to flatbed capacity?
A data center's supply chain is almost entirely physical, oversized freight: concrete, structural steel, transformers, switchgear, generators, cooling equipment, and racks of servers, most of it moved by flatbed because it doesn't fit in a standard dry van. FreightWaves estimates that works out to roughly 100,000 truckloads per gigawatt of new capacity. The U.S. has added about 20 gigawatts of data center capacity since the AI buildout accelerated in 2023 — call it 2 million truckloads absorbed by this one category of construction in three years, much of it going to rural sites with thin existing trucking infrastructure. CNBC reports that roughly two-thirds of new AI data centers are being built in rural areas, which means the trucks and drivers aren't just busier — they're being pulled to places that didn't have much freight capacity to begin with.
Why does this raise costs on a job that has nothing to do with a data center?
Because flatbed and specialized carriers don't work exclusively for hyperscalers — they take whatever load pays best that week, and right now that's frequently a data center job. FreightWaves has a name for the effect on everyone else: a "capacity tax." Shippers of chemicals, plastics, building materials, and metals are paying premium rates into what is otherwise a soft-volume freight market, because data center general contractors can outbid them for the same trucks. A GC or sub scheduling a flatbed delivery of precast panels, structural steel, or an oversized mechanical skid is functionally competing with a hyperscaler's procurement budget for that truck.
What does this mean for a bid or a schedule?
| If your project ships by flatbed... | What's changed |
|---|---|
| Structural steel, precast, or curtain wall panels | Expect higher spot rates and longer lead time to secure a carrier, especially outside major metro lanes |
| Oversized mechanical/electrical equipment (switchgear, chillers, generators) | Same trucks a data center GC wants — book early, don't assume next-week availability |
| A rural or exurban site | You're now competing with hyperscaler freight for capacity in a lane that may not have had much to begin with |
| A tight commissioning schedule | Flatbed rejection spikes above 32% (per DAT's SONAR data) mean a re-shopped load — build float around any single-carrier flatbed delivery |
Diesel prices add to the squeeze: CNBC reported fuel hit an all-time high of $5.85 a gallon this past week, tied to the Iran war's effect on oil markets — a cost that shows up in every flatbed quote regardless of who's shipping.
Is any of this good news for contractors?
Some. Fleet operators are treating the data center freight wave as a genuine bright spot in an otherwise uneven freight market — Cox Fleet's Patrick Brennan told CNBC that "AI and data center activity presents an opportunity for fleets" after years of tariff pressure and thin margins. If your firm runs its own trucks or has a captive logistics arm, there's real revenue in bidding on hyperscaler freight directly. But the same reporting flags an "extraordinary drop-off" in data center-related freight once a given project's construction phase ends, so don't restructure a fleet or a rate contract around it as if it's permanent — it moves with wherever the next site breaks ground.
The takeaway
Don't fold flatbed freight into a generic delivery allowance on your next estimate. Price it as its own line, get carrier quotes earlier than you used to, and build schedule contingency around any single oversized load — the data center boom means the truck you're counting on might get a better offer first.
Equipment lead times aren't the only thing the data center boom is stretching — switchgear and transformer orders now need to go in before design is even final; freight capacity to move that equipment once it arrives is the next constraint in the same chain.
Forward this to whoever's pricing the next flatbed delivery on your job.
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- Why are flatbed trucking rates so high right now?
- AI data center construction is absorbing a disproportionate share of flatbed and specialized-carrier capacity. DAT iQ analyst Dean Croke says the flatbed spot market has been "on fire for 18 months," driven largely by data center, nuclear, and gas power-generation freight. Flatbed tender rejection rates — the share of load requests carriers turn down for better-paying loads — spiked above 32% earlier this year, an event SONAR data shows has happened only twice in eight years.
- How much freight does one AI data center actually generate?
- FreightWaves estimates each gigawatt of new data center capacity requires roughly 100,000 truckloads of concrete, structural steel, transformers, switchgear, and generators. The U.S. has added roughly 20 gigawatts of data center capacity since the AI boom took off in 2023 — on that math, about 2 million truckloads already moved.
- Does this affect construction projects that have nothing to do with data centers?
- Yes. Any project that ships precast, structural steel, oversized mechanical equipment, or generators by flatbed or specialized trailer is bidding for the same limited pool of trucks and drivers. FreightWaves calls this the "capacity tax": commodity and building-materials shippers are paying premium rates into an otherwise soft freight market because hyperscalers can outbid them for the same equipment.
- Will the data center freight boom last?
- Not indefinitely, and not evenly. CNBC reporting on the trucking industry notes an "extraordinary drop-off" in data center-related freight once a given project finishes construction — the demand is tied to the build phase, not to the data center's eventual operation. Expect the pressure to keep shifting to wherever the next wave of sites breaks ground, largely rural counties with little existing freight infrastructure.
- What should an estimator or PM do differently because of this?
- Price flatbed and oversized-load freight as its own line item rather than folding it into a generic delivery allowance, get quotes from carriers earlier in preconstruction, and build schedule float around anything moving by flatbed — a rejected tender means a re-shopped load, and that can cost days, not hours.