Spot Market Freight Rates, Available Loads Drop

Rates declined across all three equipment types on the spot freight market as available truckload capacity increased while load availability fell, according to new figures released by DAT Solutions, which operates the DAT network of load boards.

The average spot van rate fell 1.1% to $1.87 per mile for the week ending July 11th compared to the previous week and back to where it was two weeks earlier following a small hike last week.

The van load-to-truck ratio slipped 17% meaning there were two available van loads for every truck posted on the DAT network.

Available van capacity increased 25% largely because last week had five workdays and the previous week had only four. A 20% to 25% increase in load board activity is typical during the first week following a holiday, according to the company.

The volume of refrigerated load posts increased only 0.5% while truck posts increased 28%.

The national average reefer load-to-truck ratio dropped 22% to five loads per truck while the average spot reefer rate dropped 1.4% to $2.19 per mile, its lowest in the past month.

Flatbed load posts rose just 3.9% while truck posts increased 22%.

The load-to-truck ratio lost 15%, falling to 14.2 loads per truck, and the average spot flatbed rate dipped another 0.9% to $2.16 per mile, its lowest level in the past four weeks.