Spot Rates Rise as Freight Level Drops

Rates on the spot market increased over the past week as the level of freight declined, according to DAT.

Available spot market loads the first seven days of September fell 17% compared to the previous seven days, due in large part to the Labor Day holiday.

Rates for vans increased 2.7% to $1.89 per mile, its highest level out of the past four weeks, while reefer rates rebounded 4.7% to $2.21, also its best performance in the past month. Flatbed rates, in contrast, remain stagnant at $2.19 per mile, the same place its been for three straight weeks.

This came as the load-to-truck ratio increased 6.6% for vans, 6.1% for flatbeds, but fell 4.1% for reefers.

The highest load-to-truck ratios for vans were in Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Vermont and Wisconsin while most states in the Southeast and Southwest saw the best ratios for flatbeds in addition to Idaho, Indiana, Maine, Montana, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming.

The best load-to-truck ratios for reefers were in the upper Northeast, Midwest, parts of the Southeast and the middle part of the Plains states. DAT says for reefers the impact of the Labor Day holiday was less than usual and bumper crops should drive demand for trucks in this sector.