Spot Flatbed Rates Continue Increasing as Vans, Reefers Remain Stable
Flatbed load availability and rates made big gains and the flatbed load-to-truck ratio hit a new record during the week ending March 10, according to DAT Solutions and its network of load boards, while a separate report for last month showed a drop in rates but they remained above year-ago levels.
The number of flatbed load posts increased 10.8% while truck posts dipped 1% compared to the previous week. There were 88.5 available loads for every flatbed truck posted on DAT load boards, up 11%. It was 61.8 a month ago and below 30 in November.
Flatbed freight includes construction materials, machinery, and other heavy loads. The national average flatbed rate was $2.50 per mile, 11 cents higher compared to the previous week and compared to $2.30 per mile three weeks earlier. All reported weekly rates include fuel surcharges.
Houston was the largest market in terms of outbound flatbed freight volume. The number of available loads in Houston jumped 11.4% and the average outbound rate was up 6 cents to $2.70 per mile.
Meantime, in the van sector, after two weeks of rising volumes, the number of loads slipped 0.6% last week while truck posts increased 3.1%. The result was a mostly neutral week in terms of rates, as the national average spot van rate was $2.14 per mile, unchanged for the third straight week. The van load-to-truck ratio was down slightly to 6.8 loads per truck.
Reefer load posts increased 4% while truck posts increased 5%. That caused the national load-to-truck ratio for reefers to decline from 10.6 to 10.5 loads per truck. The national average reefer rate held steady at $2.40 per mile for the second week in a row.
During this time period the national average retail prices of diesel fell 0.3% to $2.98 per gallon.
DAT North American Freight Index Posts February Drop
