Spot Truckload Freight Rates Continue Moving Higher Following Hurricanes

The number of available loads on the spot truckload freight market rose as freight rates moved higher again for the week ending Sept. 23, according to new figures from DAT Solutions and its network of load boards.

The number of available trucks increased 5% but load-to-truck ratios remained high with vans at 6.4 to 1, down 3% from last week. In contrast, flatbeds improved 5% to 43.2 to 1 and reefers ticked up 3% to 12.2 to 1.

National average spot truckload rates made gains with reefers posting the biggest gain from a week ago, 3 cents, for a national average of $2.18 per mile. Both vans and flatbeds improved by a penny to $1.94 per mile and $2.25 per mile, respectively. All reported rates include fuel surcharges.

A lot of this can be attributed to the supply chain disruptions caused by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, plus the uptick in fuel costs that followed, according to DAT. But so far, truckload capacity hasn't shown many signs of loosening, so prices have stayed elevated even after the initial spikes in rates caused by the storms.

Nationally, van load posts increased 4% and spot market volumes hit an all-time high on the top 100 van lanes. Rates rose on 66 of those lanes, and the national average van rate is 16 cents higher it was for the month of August.

Regionally, van volume soared 52% out of Atlanta due to emergency freight headed to Florida and pent-up demand from delayed shipments due to Hurricane Irma. Despite the higher demand from shippers, the average outbound van rate declined in Atlanta, down 9 cents to $2.49 per mile.

Rates out of Texas markets were also down, but outbound averages in both Dallas, at $1.78 per mile, and Houston, at $1.72 per mile, were higher than before Hurricane Harvey hit almost ...Read the rest of this story

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Organizer: New NACV Truck Show Has Opened Strong

Media out in force at Volvo press conference at the NACV Show. Photo: Evan Lockridge

ATLANTA. The numbers are not all in yet, but given preliminary figures and his own expert sense of how shows go, one of the organizers of the North American Commercial Vehicle Show was ready to declare it a solid success at the end of the third of its four-day inaugural run here at the Georgia World Congress Center.

In a Sept. 27 interview with HDT, Larry Turner, president and CEO of Chicago-based Hannover Fairs USA, said that he “wasn't surprised” that the show floor seemed “settled down” by that mid-afternoon. He attributed that to the “ebb and flow” of attendees into different areas of the exhibit hall. “There are a lot of folks concentrated in some of the larger booths, including where cafes are set up, and that impacts the flow of attendees and the look of the show floor.”

While show management won't release its final attendance figures until next Monday, Turner said that they're looking to come in at around 10,000 attendees. “That's not including roughly 5,000 exhibitor personnel and 243 members of the media.” He noted that some 20% of the attendees have been “walk-up registrations, including more today,” which suggests word of the new show is still getting out.

Turner pointed out that the NACV Show was “never attended for 50,000 people.” He said it is “not open to the public.” Rather, its primary registration effort was focused on attracting attendees who “own five or more trucks with [individual] owner-operators welcome as well. The vast majority of attendees are from private and public fleets. We were not looking to compete with the Mid America Trucking Show,” he added. “They have their [own niche] and we think we can coexist.”

He also said that registration had ...Read the rest of this story

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