DAT spot rates and load-to-truck ratios

Freight Trends from DAT One and DAT iQ Spot market data for July 21-27, 2024

Spot market data for July 21-27, 2024 (Week 30)

Load posts on DAT One declined by 3% while spot rates slumped
Summer seasonality continues to take hold in the spot truckload freight market. The number of loads posted on DAT One fell for the second straight week, dropping by 3% to 1.83 million last week. That’s down 7% year over year. Truck posts decreased 6% to 324,253.

Dry Vans
▼  Van loads: 863,599, down 1.9% week over week
▼  Van equipment: 212,812, down 6.2%
▼  Linehaul rate: $1.64 net fuel, down 1 cent week over week 
▲  Load-to-truck ratio: 4.1, up from 4.0

Reefers
▼  Reefer loads: 409,340, down 3.8% week over week
▼  Reefer equipment: 64,446, down 7.5%
▼  Linehaul rate: $1.96 net fuel, down 4 cents
▲  Load-to-truck ratio: 6.4, up from 6.3

Flatbeds
▼  Flatbed loads: 559,343, down 5.6% week over week
▼  Flatbed equipment: 46,995, down 4.2%
▼  Linehaul rate: $2.00 net fuel, down 2 cents
▼  Load-to-truck ratio: 11.9, down from 12.5

Market Notes from Dean Croke, DAT Principal Analyst:

• At 4.1, the national average dry van load-to-truck ratio is the highest for Week 30 in eight years, except for the pandemic year of 2020, when it was 4.2.
• The national average dry van linehaul spot rate has decreased by 6 cents per mile in the last month. The average rate of $1.64 per mile is almost the same as last year.
• On DAT One’s Top 50 van lanes (based on the number of loads moved), the average rate was $2.03 a mile, down 3 cents week over week.
• At $1.96 per mile, the average reefer linehaul rate was 3 cents lower year over year and 2 cents lower than the three-month trailing average. Weak produce shipments have affected demand for reefer trucks: the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that truckload produce volumes for Week 30 are among the lowest in 10 years.

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