Freight rates on the spot market in April plunged to five-year lows, thanks to plummeting demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It's so bad, owner-operators have been protesting all over the country, calling for more broker regulation. But is it really a broker problem? Or classic supply and demand?
Flatbed markets remained strong and van markets surged as overall spot freight availability rose 12% and capacity stayed flat, according to the latest numbers from DAT Solutions.
The amount of spot market freight has rebounded from last week, while rates in two out of three categories has also recovered. The freight-matching service provider DAT Solutions reports the number of loads available increased 1.5% Sept. 28 through Oct. 4 compared to the previous seven days, as spot market capacity fell by 4.3%.
As fuel costs fell last week, truckload rates remained steady across all major equipment types, according to a report by DAT.
The fraudulent employers promise to reimburse the “shipping assistants”, but no money is ever reimbursed. When questioned, the scammers claim to be affiliated with the brokers or carriers whose identities and logos they have hijacked for that purpose.
The amount of freight on the spot market has increased along with rates in two out of the three major categories.
Van rates on the spot market surged the first week of December, according to the freight-matching service provider DAT. Total spot market loads available increased 16% and spot market capacity increased 5.2%, while load-to-truck ratios increased across the board.
While there was more freight to haul over the past week on the spot market, freight rates moved little, according to the freight matching service provider DAT
Spot market freight availability rose 1.9% in October, to a level that is atypically high for the season, according to the DAT North American Freight Index.
While national average rates for vans and refrigerated rates dipped slightly, spot market capacity and demand on the DAT network of load boards remained seasonally elevated during the week ending Oct. 19.