Spot Van Rates Jump on Capacity Imbalance

The number of available loads on the spot truckload market jumped 36% during the week ending June 6 and capacity increased just 5.5%, according to DAT Solutions.

The supply-demand imbalance helped push spot rates up last week. The national average van rate increased 5 cents to $1.90 per mile, the reefer rate rose 4 cents to $2.23, and the flatbed rate edged up 1 cent to $2.19. Typically, according to DAT, load and truck posts increase 20% to 25% after a holiday-shortened workweek.

The group advises that capacity pressure may have been related to carriers parking trucks during Roadcheck, the commercial vehicle inspection blitz on June 2-4. In the van market, DAT reported that load posts were up 32% but truck posts were up only 7.5%.

The imbalance sent the national van load-to-truck ratio up 23% to 3.0, meaning there were 3.0 available van loads for every truck posted on the DAT network. Average outbound van rates rose in several key markets including Los Angeles, up 8 cents to $2.17 per mile, and Atlanta, up 11 cents to $2.17 a mile.

Demand for reefers increased 37.5% and capacity lost 1%; the load-to-truck ratio surged up 37.5% to 7.3 reefer loads per truck. Rates continue to trend down in Florida but outbound rates are rising along the Mexican border in Texas and Arizona.

Flatbed load availability rose 38% but capacity added just 5.5%. The resulting load-to-truck ratio climbed 31% to 30.0 flatbed loads per truck.

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