The total number of posted loads increased 17% while available capacity was up 9.5% during the week ending Jan. 7. Tighter capacity pushed van and flatbed load-to-truck ratios higher while the refrigerated freight ratio dipped:
- Van L/T: 4.9 van loads per truck, up 10%
- Flatbed L/T: 28.6 (up 7%)
- Reefer L/T: 10.7 (down 4%)
National average spot reefer and van rates both made gains:
- Reefers: $2.03/mile, up 5 cents to an unseasonable high
- Vans: $1.77/mile, up 4 cents
The average flatbed rate fell 3 cents to $1.92/mile.
Van Activity Up: Van activity picked up gradually in the week following the holidays. Van load posts were up 20% compared to the previous week and truck posts increased 9%. But rates fell sharply in many key markets especially in the Midwest and West. In some markets, winter weather made freight difficult to move:
- Los Angeles, $2.08/mile, down 8 cents
- Chicago, $2.12/mile, down 11 cents
- Houston, $1.57/mile, down 2 cents
- Atlanta, $1.96/mile, down 3 cents
- Philadelphia, $1.75/mile, down 3 cents
- Chicago-Denver, $2.11/mile, down 86 cents
- Dallas-Phoenix, $1.30/mile, down 42 cents
- Miami-Baltimore fell to pre-Christmas levels at $1.72/mile
- Elizabeth, N.J.-Boston came back down 38 cents to $3.50/mile: still high but traffic and weather make travel difficult on that lane, plus there’s not much freight coming out of Boston.
Flatbed Gains Ground: Flatbed load posts increased 26% and truck posts increased 18% last week. That pushed the load-to-truck ratio up to 28.6, the highest weekly flatbed ratio since September 2014.
Fuel Increases Again: Spot TL rates include a fuel surcharge. The national average price of on-highway diesel gained a penny to $2.60/gallon.
Rates are derived from DAT RateView, which provides real-time reports on prevailing spot market and contract rates, as well as historical rate and capacity trends. All reported rates include fuel surcharges.
Get the latest rate trends at DAT.com
