Spot Truckload Rates Slip, Fuel Drop is Key

Spot truckload rates fell an average of 1 cent per mile for van, refrigerated, and flatbed loads during the week ending August 29, reports DAT Solutions.

In each case the line-haul rate was unchanged compared to the previous week. The 1-cent drop, according to DAT, was due to a lower average fuel surcharge as the national average price of diesel fell 5 cents to $2.51 per gallon. All reported spot rates include fuel surcharges.

Van load availability recovered 3% while the number of available vans jumped 2%. After rounding, the van load-to-truck ratio was 1.8 loads per truck, meaning there were 1.8 available van loads for every truck posted on the DAT network. The average van rate was $1.75 per mile.

Refrigerated load volume rose another 2% as truck capacity edged down 0.7%, to boost the load-to-truck ratio from 4.7 to 4.9. The national average reefer rate dipped 1 cent to $2.03 per mile.

Flatbed load availability fell 4% while available capacity increased 5.5%. The flatbed load-to-truck ratio slipped 9% to 9.5 and the average flatbed rate was down a penny to $2.06 per mile.

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