Truckload freight volumes and spot rates for dry van and refrigerated loads fell for the fourth month in a row in April, according to DAT Freight & Analytics.
Spot truckload freight activity saw a bump last week as a result of shippers and logistics companies repositioning freight that would be affected by a pair of major storms along the Gulf Coast.
Looking at the spot market for the third week of July, it's hard to tell where we may be going, with rates and volumes hard to compare to typical seasonal trends due to COVID-19.
Spot market freight levels were down for the Independence Day holiday week, but rates were up, according to DAT and Truckstop.com, two major services tracking spot market data.
According to DAT Freight Trends for the week of June 1-7, average van, refrigerated, and flatbed rates have recovered to where they were prior to widespread shutdowns of the U.S. due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
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?
The pressure to restock grocery stores and distribution centers stripped by COVID-19 buying has quickly given way to a slump for truck freight. As March segued into April, the spot market took a tumble, according to figures from DAT Solutions and Truckstop.com.
The looming business and economic impact on the trucking industry from COVID-19 pandemic is “kind of like there’s a big hurricane coming in, and it’s one of the nastier storms in history. But so far you’re just seeing some waves on the shore.”
First-quarter 2019 GDP grew at 3.2%, and the latest guess about the second quarter is 1.7%. That latter number is a disappointment for sure, but it is not a negative, says longtime trucking economic analyst Noel Perry. But what about freight?
Recent economic reports from trucking industry analysts show a decline in the freight market in the near term, but it could stabilize in the long term.
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