Spot Load Availability Soars to Unseasonable Highs Says New Report

But here’s the surprise: Less expected was the unseasonably high number of loads posted to the DAT network of load boards during the week ending Dec. 3: a 64% jump in the number of available loads compared to a 13% increase in the number of posted trucks.

The spot van load-to-truck ratio is the highest since June 2014; the refrigerated ratio is at its highest since March 2015:

+ Van L/T: 4.7 (up 61%)
+ Reefer L/T: 8.2 (up 36%)
+ Flatbed L/T: 18.8 (up 27%)

With demand on the upswing, rates rose across all three equipment types:

+ Vans: $1.74/mile, up 8 cents
+ Reefers: $1.96/mile, up 1 cent
+ Flatbeds: $1.91/mile, up 2 cents

Those rates include a fuel surcharge. The average price of on-highway diesel gained 2.4% compared to the previous week at $2.48/gallon.

Van Loads Soar: The number of van load posts soared 80% and truck posts increased 11% week over week. Spot van rates stayed strong in key regional markets:

+ Chicago, $2.09/mile, unchanged
+ Dallas, $1.57/mile, up 2 cents
+ Charlotte, $2.02/mile, up 5 cents
+ Buffalo, N.Y., $2.12/mile, up 10 cents
+ Los Angeles, $2.16/mile, down 3 cents

Reefers Cooling: Reefer load posts were up 49% last week and truck posts increased 9%. With holiday produce on the move, the national average rate for November was 6 cents higher than October’s average. But prices are now tailing off in produce markets:

Flatdecks Bounce Back: Flatbed demand bounced back after Thanksgiving: the number of flatbed load posts increased 59% and truck posts gained 26% compared to the previous week.Rates are derived from DAT® RateView, which provides real-time reports on prevailing spot market and contract rates, as well as historical rate and capacity trends. All reported rates include fuel surcharges.