Spot market freight volumes reported by the DAT North American Freight Index rose 2.2% in June, compared to May, according to newly released figures.

The month-over-month increase fell slightly short of seasonal norms, while freight volume increased from May to June in eight of the past ten years with an average increase of 10%.

Freight availability rose 1.8% in June for both vans and flatbeds compared to May, but only 0.6% for refrigerated trailers. Compared to the record volume of June 2012, however, freight availability declined 9.5%. Volume dropped 9.5% for vans and 6.8% for flatbeds, but reefer load availability rose 3.9%, year over year.

Spot market rates rose 4.5% for vans in June compared to May, flatbed rates edged up 0.6% and reefer rates rose 6.0%. On a year-over-year basis, van rates declined 2.1% and flatbeds dropped 8.3% from the extremely high pricing levels of June 2012 in that segment. Reefer rates rose only 0.6% in June, compared to June 2012.

Rates are derived from DAT RateView, which is based on $18 billion of actual transactions paid by brokers, 3PLs and shippers to carriers. Reference rates are for line haul only, excluding fuel surcharges, which were unchanged in June on a month-over-month basis, but declined 2.0 percent compared to June 2012.

The monthly DAT North American Freight Index reflects spot market freight availability on the TransCore DAT network of load boards in the United States and Canada.