Spot Market Freight Volume Up, Rates Nearly Unchanged from Last Week

Spot market freight activity continued to build during the week ending April 28 as the number of loads on the DAT network of load boards increased but a hike in truck capacity helped keep a lid on rates.

The number of available loads rose 3.1% from the week before as truck posts increased 2.6%. National van and refrigerated load-to-truck ratios dipped while the flatbed load-to-truck ratio exceeded 100 for the fifth straight week.

The national average van and reefer rate were unchanged at $2.16 per mile and $2.42 per mile, respectively. The average flatbed rate improved just 1 cent from the week before, as it hit $2.64 per mile.

April spot truckload rates were all higher compared to March national averages. The average van rate is up 1 cent, the reefer rate is 2 cents higher, and the flatbed rate is up 12 cents. All reported rates include a surcharge portion that fluctuates with the price of fuel, which increased to a national average of $3.16 per gallon last week.

Van load posts declined 2% last week while truck posts increased 3%. That caused the van load-to-truck ratio to dip 5% to 6.1 to 1. Key outbound markets include:

• Los Angeles: $2.35 per mile, up just 1 cent on a 9.2% increase in volume
• Seattle: $1.60 per mile, up 3 cents with a 26.6% volume increase

In contrast, several bellwether van lanes reflected weaker rates:

• Columbus, Ohio, to Buffalo: $3.78 per mile, down 30 cents but still one of the highest paying lanes into the Northeast
• Philadelphia to Boston: $3.95 per mile, down 9 cents
• Atlanta to Lakeland, Florida: $3.02 per mile, unchanged although the return was up 4 cents to $1.23 per mile

The spot flatbed market continued to surge as Cleveland, Las Vegas, Jacksonville, and Fort Worth joined Houston as volume leaders last week. Nationally, flatbed load posts increased 6% while truck posts increased less than 1%. As a result, the load-to-truck ratio increased 6% to 108 loads per truck. Outbound markets to watch include:

• Memphis, $3.54 per mile, up 16 cents
• Fort Worth, $2.38 per mile, up 9 cents
• Houston, $3.03 per mile, unchanged
• Las Vegas, $2.89 per mile, up 19 cents

Reefer load posts held steady while truck posts increased 2%. That caused the national load-to-truck ratio for reefers to decline 2%, from 8.4 to 1 to 8.2 to 1. Reefer volumes are beginning to build, however, especially in the Miami and Savannah markets, according to DAT.