Spot truckload freight rates increased for the second week in a row, bucking typical trends for late July, said DAT Solutions, which operates the DAT One load board network.
Spot rates usually taper off during July, but they’ve been elevated as shippers and freight brokers turn to the spot market to help them manage imbalances in their supply chains. At once, the number of spot dry van, refrigerated and flatbed loads on DAT One decreased 3% during that final full week of July (ending July 26), while the number of trucks posted increased 2% — that could have resulted in a slight downshift in rates last week (we’ll know when the numbers are final), though the activity changes were minimal.
National average spot rates, full month through July 26
**Van: $2.03 per mile, up 22 cents compared to June
**Flatbed: $2.19 per mile, up 12 cents
**Reefer: $2.29 per mile, up 14 cents
These rates are rolling averages for the month through July 26. They include a fuel surcharge.
Exclude a calculated fuel surcharge and national average month-to-date line-haul rates are up a cent for vans and flatbeds at $1.83 and $1.95 per mile, respectively, compared to the previous week. The average spot reefer line-haul rate was unchanged at $2.07.
Spot line-haul van rates are above 2018 levels: The national average spot line-haul van rate (excluding fuel surcharges) reached $1.88 per mile last week, equal to the same week in 2018 when capacity was considerably tighter. Load posts on DAT One were roughly 30% higher year over year as a result of shippers utilizing the spot market more due to pandemic-related disruptions.
