Spot Reefer Rate at 3-Year High; Van Lanes Surge

Spot rates continued to hover above seasonal norms during the week ending Nov. 25, reported DAT Solutions:

– Reefer: $2.43/mile, up 3 cents—again—to a three-year record

– Van: $2.07/mile, up 1 cent compared to the previous week

– Flatbed: $2.29/mile, unchanged

In the reefer market, the number of load posts fell 38% while truck posts dropped 16%, causing the reefer ratio to decline 26% to 9.6 loads per truck. Several outbound reefer markets experienced double-digit average rate increases including Los Angeles ($3.14/mile, up 25 cents), Dallas ($2.32/mile, up 10 cents), McAllen, Texas ($2.23/mile, up 20 cents), and Philadelphia ($3.16/mile, up 25 cents).

Van load post activity fell 26% and truck posts dropped 27% but the van ratio increased slightly to 6.8 loads per truck. Heading into December, the spot van outlook is strong and rates from key markets are surging:

– Los Angeles, $2.77/mile, up 6 cents

– Chicago, $2.82/mile, up 12 cents

– Memphis, $2.42/mile, up 3 cents

– Atlanta, $2.38/mile, up 6 cents

– Dallas, $1.87/mile, up 11 cents

– Buffalo, $2.58/mile, up 13 cents

– Philadelphia, $2.02/mile, up 6 cents

Several van lanes spiked as well compared to the previous week:

– Chicago-Detroit, $3.69/mile, up 27 cents

– Chicago-Los Angeles, $1.54/mile, up 5 cents

– Buffalo-Allentown, $3.76/mile, up 36 cents

– Dallas-Houston, $2.73/mile, up 17 cents

– Los Angeles-Phoenix, $3.64/mile, up 24 cents

Flatbed load and truck posts were lower last week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Load posts fell 39% and truck posts dropped 35%; the flatbed load-to-truck ratio dipped 5% to 26.0 loads per truck, still a high ratio.

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.