Spot van load availability edged up half a percent last week on DAT Load Boards, but truck posts added 3.7 percent — the national van load-to-truck ratio declined 3.1 percent, an indicator of overall demand decline. Spot market rates, nationally, followed with a 2-cent-per-mile decline to $1.70 per mile. That’s two cents below levels seen with the last van segment update October 28.
Outbound rates declined in most major freight markets, and lanes with rates above $2 per mile came under pressure. At once, however, a few lower-priced lanes saw increases that brought them closer to the $2 mark. If you’re in the neighborhood, look for loads here: Columbus to Memphis and Memphis to Indianapolis. High-paying loads are also available from Indianapolis to Columbus, so this could be a TriHaul option.
Places where volume trended up last week include Los Angeles and Memphis, where load-to-truck ratios of about 2.0 are hovering above the national average. Check out these “hot markets,” where a shortage of trucks makes it easier to get a load this week: Twin Falls, Idaho; Spokane, Wash.; Portland and Medford, Ore; Salt Lake City, Utah; Green Bay, Wis.; and Little Rock, Ark.
Some of the freight is seasonal, including shelf-stable grocery items and Christmas trees. Check load availability at your destination before you start out.
![High load-to-truck ratios turned the map red in the Dakotas and Mississippi last week, but those states aren’t showing high load volumes.](https://img.overdriveonline.com/files/base/randallreilly/all/image/2015/11/ovd.DAT-VanHotStatesMap-2015-Nov8-14.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max&q=70&w=400)
Rates reflected the national picture’s downward trend last week in both directions between Buffalo and Philadelphia last week. A 385-mile length of haul between the cities makes the round trip one that could be optimized with a third leg to get more productive use of drive time and your equipment if you’re making the run over two days. The out-and-back roundtrip rate yields revenue averaging between $1,700 and $1,800, according to averages derived from DAT RateView.
A good third leg on the return to Pittsburg, the back to Buffalo, would add around 140 miles of driving, plus extra time at the dock, in exchange for a 33 percent bump in revenue. If you can make the full triangle in two days, you end up with $1,200 or more per day compared to the Buffalo-Philly round trip. Examine the details in the chart below.