Per-mile spot market rates jumped in all three major truckload segments in June, according to data on rates averages from Truckstop.com, rallying from the March-to-April spot market crash, in which rates plummeted as shelter orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and as restocking from the March panic buying subsided.
However, as noted last week in Overdrive reporting, the spot market sprang back to life as partial re-openings and renewed retail spending have helped buoy the economy.
Dry van rates saw the biggest gains, climbing 17 cents per mile on average to $2.01, according to Truckstop.com’s transactional data. That’s shy of the segment’s recent high in March ($2.07), but better than February’s $2 per mile. June’s per-mile van average was down 18 cents from the same month last year.
Reefer rates jumped 7 cents a mile in June from May, to $2.22. That’s down from January’s $2.36 a mile and March’s $2.30, but up from April’s $2.12 average. However, reefer’s average in June was down 20 cents from June 2019.
Lastly, flatbed rates rose 10 cents in June from May to $2.31 a mile. Flatbed’s average was still down from its recent high in March, $2.43 a mile. Likewise, the segment was down 12 cents from last June’s $2.43 average.
