Spot truckload freight rates kick off new year at record-setting pace

Learn what records were set by spot truckload freight rates in January 2018, according to DAT Solutions.

Feb. 20, 2018

2 min read

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Spot truckload rates for refrigerated, van and flatbed freight set records in January 2018 as capacity remained tight due to shipper demand and fallout from the electronic logging device (ELD) mandate, according to DAT Solutions, which operates a leading truckload freight marketplace.

At $2.66 per mile, the national average spot reefer rate was 18 cents higher month over month and 71 cents higher than January 2017. The reefer rate was higher than any monthly average since at least 2010, when DAT began tracking spot market freight rates in DAT RateView. The spot rate was 31 cents higher than the average contract rate, an extraordinary gap for reefer freight in January. This means truckload carriers were paid more for one-time loads from freight brokers than for longer-term contracts negotiated directly with shippers.

The national average spot van rate was $2.26 per mile in January, up 15 cents from December and 59 cents higher than January 2017, to set an all-time record. January’s spot rate also exceeded the average contract rate by 14 cents.

For flatbeds, the national average spot rate was $2.39 per mile, 7 cents higher than December and 47 cents higher year over year. The spot rate beat the average contract rate by 7 cents. Flatbed line haul rates, excluding fuel, were higher for flatbeds in January than in any previous month. When fuel surcharges are added, however, January’s total rates for flatbeds were a few cents lower than in summer 2014, when average surcharges were 20 cents above current levels.

Economic growth contributed to the surge in rates but so did capacity constraints related to ELDs. Beginning December 18, 2017, federal rules require interstate carriers to use ELDs to record driver hours of service, and many fleets have reported that the transition can hamper productivity, at least temporarily.

These factors caused demand for spot truckload freight services to rise 28% over December and 65% compared with January 2017, as shown in the DAT North American Freight Index.

Established in 1978, DAT operates a network of load boards serving intermediaries and carriers across North America. For more than a decade DAT has published its Freight Index, which is representative of the dynamic spot market.

See www.DAT.com for further details.