Freight volumes climb 5.6% from April to May; reefer rates lead the field

Spot market freight volumes reported by the DAT North American Freight Index rose 5.6% from April to May 2013.

The month-over-month increase was consistent with seasonal expectations; freight volume increased from April to May in eight of the past 10 years for an average increase of 6.3%, compared with this year’s 5.6% uptick. Freight availability rose 27% for refrigerated (reefer) trailers and 19% for vans, but declined 7.2% for flatbeds.

In contrast to May 2012, when freight reached an all-time high, freight volume declined 13%. The decline was largely due to a 24% drop in load availability for flatbeds. Van freight also declined 7.1%, but there was a 3.6% year-over-year increase in reefer loads.

Spot market rates for reefers soared 12% and rose 3.9% for vans in May, but flatbed rates lost 0.6% versus April. On a year-over-year basis, reefer rates rose 2.5% while van rates were unchanged. Flatbeds dropped 8.0% from the extremely high rates that accompanied scarce capacity during May 2012.

Rates are derived from DAT RateView, which is based on $18 billion of actual transactions paid by brokers, 3PLs (third-party logistics providers), and shippers to carriers. Reference rates are for linehaul only, excluding fuel surcharges, which declined in May on both a month-over-month and year-over-year basis.

The monthly DAT North American Freight Index reflects spot market freight availability on the DAT network of load boards in the United States and Canada.

DAT, a unit of TransCore, is a freight marketplace platform and information provider. Through its systems, DAT 3sixty and TruckersEdge load boards and DAT RateView, the company hosts more than 90 million spot load and truck listings and compiles $18 billion of transacted shipment data annually, as well as automated carrier safety and insurance monitoring through DAT CarrierWatch.

Go to www.dat.com for full information.