Van rates on the spot market surged the first week of December, according to the freight-matching service provider DAT.

It increased 3.2% to an average of $1.94 per mile, Dec. 1-7 from the week before. Van load volume was up 17.8%, hitting a higher weekly level that was in all of November. Rates started to slip in a number of major hubs, however, which may carry over to the rest of the supply chain next week, says DAT.

Flatbed rates, in contrast, gave up 1.4% for $2.05 per mile while reefer rates gained 1.4% for $2.10 per mile.

All this activity happened against a backdrop in which total spot market loads available during the period increased 16% and spot market capacity increased 5.2%, while load to truck ratios increased across the board.

The van load-to-truck ratio picked up 12%, followed by the flatbed load-to-truck ratio increasing 9.6% and the reefer load-to-truck ratio adding 7.6%.

When November is compared to the month before rates for rates for van and reefers posted increases of 2.2% and 2.5%, respectively, while flatbeds fell 2.3%.

Compared to the same month a year earlier, November rates for vans was the only gainer, increasing 2.7%, while it fell 5.5% for flatbeds and 0.5% for reefers.