Both truck loads and truck capacity trended up nationally on TransCore's DAT Network of load boards for the week ending Jan. 22. This is the second consecutive week when spot market freight and capacity increased in tandem, an unseasonable occurrence,
according to TransCore.

TransCore Trendlines, the company's weekly newsletter covering key spot market indicators, showed that truck loads increased by 5 percent and truck postings grew 4 percent, week over week. The weekly load-to-truck ratio, a key indicator, remained stable at 4.9 truckloads per available truck nationwide.

Within the national averages, there are significant regional trends. Outbound freight availability was more robust in Pennsylvania and Ohio, as well as Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina. Potato producers such as Idaho and Maine also had high outbound ratios of better than 4:1, indicating an abundance of truckload freight compared to equipment capacity. But in California and other Western states, the week's demand for truckload services was well below one outbound load per truck, which is unusually low for the season.