Based on data from TransCore Freight Solutions’ Truckload Rate Index, dry van rates on the spot market were up 0.9% this week over the previous week. Rates for refrigerated vans (reefers) gained 1.3% while flatbed rates rose a meager 0.3%.
Lanes with the highest dry van rate increases included a 1.6% uptick for outbound freight from Los Angeles, Stockton, CA, and Columbus, OH, with Chicago’s outbound lanes not far behind with 1.5% week-over-week increase. The L.A. climb was in part due to a pickup in freight activity at the city’s international port, signaling the arrival of consumer goods for the holiday retail season.
Denver, however, proved the biggest loser, as outbound lane rates for dry vans dropped 3.5%.
The five major markets – Chicago, Dallas, Denver, L.A. and Philadelphia – each saw an increase in reefer rates, contributing to an upward national trend.
Although nationally flatbed rates showed a slight uptick, rates from Philadelphia and Chicago declined 9.9% and 2.4% week-over-week, respectively. TransCore noted, however, that as fall weather gives way to winter and construction slows, flatbed rates historically decline.
