Spot truckload rates on the DAT Solutions network of load boards rose again for the week ending June 16 and are on track to achieve the highest ever monthly average for van, refrigerated, and flatbed freight, according to the freight matching service provider.
Despite a 6% drop in posted loads and 5.4% jump in the number of available trucks from the week before, national average rates gained for all three equipment types. The flatbed rate set a record while van and reefer rates were just shy of their all-time high:
Van: $2.30 per mile, up 1 cent
Flatbed: $2.82 per mile, up 1 cent
Reefer: $2.70 per mile, up 1 cent
Van load posts fell 5% while truck posts increased 4% compared to the previous week. The van load-to-truck ratio declined 8% to 10.3 to 1.
The number of available loads increased by double-digit percentage points in key markets such as Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, and Atlanta. Looking at spot rates, most of the top-gaining van lanes were in the West, including:
Stockton, California to Seattle, up 31 cents to $3.80 per mile
Stockton to Salt Lake City, up 30 cents to $2.87 per mile
Los Angeles to Seattle, up 23 cents to $3.75 per mile
In contrast, Houston to Dallas retreated 14 cents to $2.83 per mile last week.
Flatbed load posts slipped 7% and truck posts increased 7% last week, which pushed the flatbed load-to-truck ratio down to 88.7 to 1. It was 109 to 1 the previous week.
Reefer load posts fell 9%, truck posts increased 6%, and the reefer load-to-truck ratio dipped from 14.7 to 1 to 12.6 to 1.
Last week's increase in capacity had a bigger impact on reefer markets than on dry vans, according to DAT. While the national average reefer rate ticked upward, many high-traffic lanes had lower prices. Among them:
Dallas to Houston fell 3 cents to $3.57 per mile
Elizabeth, New Jersey to Boston was down 11 cents to $4.52 per mile
Chicago to Kansas City declined 16 cents to $2.56 per mile.
