Spot Freight Volume Up Slightly Over Past Week, Rates Flat
Spot truckload freight volumes improved a bit during the week ending Feb. 25 thanks to a 7% gain in flatbed load posts, according to DAT Solutions and its network of load boards, but rates were virtually unchanged.
Van and refrigerated freight posts declined 5% and 6%, respectively. Stronger flatbed volume and declining van and reefer freight posts were reflected in the week’s load-to-truck ratios:
Van ratio: 2.3 available loads per truckReefer ratio: 4.4 available loads per truckFlatbed ratio: 29 available loads per truck
While spot load-to-truck ratios remain solid for February, they did little to move national average outbound rates, while the national average price of diesel gained 1 cent to $2.57 per gallon:
Van: $1.62 per mile, unchangedReefer: $1.87 per mile, down 1 centFlatbed: Unchanged at $1.96 per mile
While van volumes slipped 5% overall, more activity on the top 100 van lanes may soon bring upward pressure to spot rates, according to DAT. But not yet, as no major van market saw a big increase in the average outbound rate:
Los Angeles, $1.84 per mile, unchangedChicago, $1.92 per mile, down 2 centsDallas, $1.51 per mile, unchangedAtlanta, $1.83 per mile, unchangedPhiladelphia, $1.60 per mile, down 1 cent
The number of spot reefer load posts declined 6% against a 1% drop in truck posts. The national average reefer declined for the third week in a row.
Average rates out of were major reefer markets were mixed. Two bright spots were in the Northeast. Philadelphia hit $2.28 per mile, up 6 cents from last week, and Elizabeth, New Jersey was, at $1.67 mile, up 1 cent. In the West, Los Angeles averaged $2.32 per mile, unchanged. In the South, both Atlanta, at $2.11 per mile, and McAllen, Texas, hit $1.93 per mile, down 2 cents on average.
With vans and reefers in a seasonal lull, flatbed rates and volumes are …Read the rest of this story
