Spot Truck Load Freight Volume Up 7%

The number of available loads on the DAT network of load boards jumped a full 7% during the week ending Nov. 19. 

Balanced against a 2% gain in posted trucks, national average load-to-truck ratios picked up across the board:

+ Van L/T: 2.9 (up 5%)
+ Reefer L/T: 6.7 (up 4%)
+ Flatbed L/T: 15.0 (up 6.0%)

Van volumes bounced back in a big way and, as a national average, spot truckload rates remained unseasonably high:

+ Vans: Unchanged at $1.67/mile
+ Reefers: Down 1 cent due to a slip in the average fuel surcharge to $1.94/mile
+ Flatbeds: Up 2 cents to $1.91/mile

Those rates include a fuel surcharge. The average price of on-highway diesel weakened, down 2 cents to $2.42/gallon.

Top Van Markets: Freight volume in the spot van market was up 7%, with more loads moving out of Atlanta, Dallas, and Houston last week. Los Angeles was still No. 1 for van load posts. The average outbound rate there was $2.12/mile, up 3 cents.

Two big gains in the van market were on lanes out of Denver:

+ Denver-Oklahoma City rose 20 cents to $1.23/mile
+ Denver-Stockton, Calif., added 18 cents to $1.25/mile

Not every van lane out of Denver did better. Denver-Phoenix paid just $1.03/mile on average, off 15 cents from the previous week.

Regional High Van Markets:

+ Chicago, $2.08/mile, up 1 cent
+ Dallas, $1.52/mile, up 2 cents
+ Charlotte, $1.90/mile, up 3 cents
+ Buffalo, N.Y., $1.96/mile, up 3 cents

Reefer Rebounds: Reefer load posts bounced back 7.5% last week. A strong fall harvest and last-minute Thanksgiving groceries added to demand for capacity.

Risers: Most major reefer markets posted higher rates last week. There’s still a shortage of trucks in Southern Idaho, and Twin Falls remains the No. 1 market for reefer load posts.

Tags: DAT, Truck Load Freight

Category: Featured