Spot Truckloads Lower than Anticipated

An 11% increase in the number of posted loads and a 31% increase in available capacity helped push spot load-to-truck ratios down for all three equipment types during the week ending Sept. 19, according to DAT Solutions.  

Van load availability increased 5.3%, which actually indicates a decline in demand; comparing a five-day work week to a four-day work week, a 20 to 25% increase is more typical. According to DAT, “van capacity rose for the same reasons, but at a higher rate (up 31.1%).”

The resulting load-to-truck ratio decreased 19.7% to 1.6 loads per truck, meaning there were 1.6 available van loads for every truck posted on the DAT network.    The average van rate fell 2 cents as a national average to $1.75 per mile. Rates were down in most markets, although outbound rates held steady in California.

Flatbed load availability rose 19% and truck posts increased 31.6% compared to the previous week.   The number of flatbed loads available per truck dropped 9.6% to 10.2.

Despite the decline in the number of available loads, the national average spot flatbed rate added 1 cent to $2.04 per mile.  Refrigerated load volume increased just 6.4%, well below the norm after a holiday week. Truck posts were more in line with expectations, climbing 26.5%.

The reefer load-to-truck ratio shrank 15.9% to 4.4 loads per truck, and the spot reefer rate slipped 1 cent to $2.03 per mile as a national average.

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