Spot Truckload Market Volume Jumps, Rates Move Higher
The availability of spot truckload freight gained 4.8% and the number of trucks posted slipped 3.2%, while rates remained unseasonably high, for the week ending Nov. 4, according to DAT Solutions and its network of load boards.
National average spot van and reefer rates jumped after receding for three straight weeks while the flatbed rate declined after two months of steady increases. However, national average spot rates remain above seasonal norms:
Van: $2.07 mile, up 4 cents from last weekFlatbed: $2.34 per mile, down 5 cents from the week beforeReefer: $2.36 per mile, up 5 cents from the previous week
(All rates cited include fuel surcharges.)
The number of van load posts increased 7% as retail freight enters the truckload distribution pipeline. Combined with a 4% decline in the number of trucks posted, this sent the van load-to-truck ratio up from 5.9 to 6.3 van loads per truck.
The van ratio has declined since hitting a peak of 7.0 loads per truck during the final week in September but is more than double what it was last year at this time.
Tighter capacity pushed spot market van rates higher across much of the country, as average outbound prices rose on 58 of the top 100 van lanes. Los Angeles remained the number one market for van load volume where the average outbound rate gained 11 cents to $2.49 per mile last week.
With holiday goods moving through the cold chain, the number of spot reefer load posts increased 18% last week. The reefer load-to-truck ratio increased from 9.7 to 11.8 loads per truck as available capacity fell 3%.
Of the top 72 reefer lanes, 39 had rising rates. Among the markets showing strength over the past week:
Green Bay, $3.72 per mile, up 12 centsChicago, $3.33 per mile, up 14 centsElizabeth, New Jersey, $2.20 per mile, up 6 centsLos …Read the rest of this story
