Tag: flatbed: Page 12

Hot markets for flat, van, reefer loads in the last week

E-commerce continued to extend the fall freight season, and season-specific freight was on the road in large volumes last week, with Christmas trees, as well as potatoes, cranberries, and other fall produce indicating that grocery stores were still stocking up on fresh food during the week before Thanksgiving. “We expect this week to be quieter, for all the right reasons.”

November 23, 2016

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Fall freight season spreading out beyond Thanksgiving? Spot market update illustrates e-commerce trends

“The very decided trend toward e-commerce for holiday shoppers” holds the chance of extending, or at least re-ordering, “the historic notions of the ‘second freight season’ ending by Thanksgiving.” –DAT’s Ken Harper

November 18, 2016

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Spot market demand tilting toward a stronger environment for carriers in 2017

FTR analyst and COO Jonathan Starks feels truckers’ demand position in the spot market will improve well into 2017, particularly if movement toward electronic logging devices picks up. As in any improving-demand situation, rates will follow up.

November 2, 2016

Strength in dry van demand in particular has seen gains over 2015 in the last several weeks, as Starks showed in this slide illustrating the overall effect on the Market Demand Index.

Spot market: Mixed bag for flatbed, dry van, reefer

Surging van freight in the Southeast post-Matthew fell off as flatbed picked up there last week. Reefers were in demand in markets along the Mexican border with produce coming north.

October 28, 2016

Three areas traditionally considered as “backhaul markets” saw big increases in volumes and rates on DAT Load Boards: Denver, Seattle and Buffalo. There are still a lot of loads in L.A. and Stockton, Calif., as well. Rates in the Southeast fell back to earth after a one-week surge following the storm. Highway closures also made moving freight more expensive. The roads are open now, and the average outbound rate from Charlotte dropped 22 cents.

Rates move, slightly: Demand indicators for flat, van, reefer

Hanjin bankruptcy impacts continued to be felt in high van demand out West, while the hurricane put a short-term damper on freight volume out East late last week. Demand pictures for all three major segments available here.

October 12, 2016

Reefer load posts spiked in Charlotte last week ahead of the hurricane. Lots of those loads were heading to Atlanta and Florida. Otherwise, reefer trends were all over the place. Volumes were down nationally, and more than half of the top 72 reefer lanes saw rates fall. However, the national average reefer rate added 1 cent to $1.92/mile.

Jay Holsomback and his workhorse 1996 KW W900L

From late 2016: This truck is nothing short of a work of hardworking art, powered by a 550-hp Cat with an 18-speed transmission, 3:55 rears and a 305-inch wheelbase. Take a video tour through its modifications here.

September 27, 2016

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Utility Trailer introduces new, lighter flatbed

The 4000AE comes standard with a 47,000-pound coil haul package and is 627 pounds lighter than the 4000A model fitted with an optional coil haul package, Utility says.

September 27, 2016

Spot market update: Local demand indicators for three major segments in the last week

A somewhat lackluster week on the spot market saw van and reefer volume increase slightly, but rates were more or less unchanged as a national average. Flatbed volume and rates considered broadly continued to drift down, but Savannah-Charlotte was a hot round trip.

September 1, 2016

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‘One out of every six Americans killed on the job is a truck driver’

That’s directly from a Department of Labor blog post about workplace-death stats, explored here. And: One operator’s reliable truck is another’s “dream gear” — one driver’s wisecrack “comment of the week”…

August 18, 2016

Spot market van rates showing strength — relatively speaking, that is

DAT Load Boards’ network showed July van rates above June’s, atypical this time of years. It’s one of a couple “good signs that we’re watching to see if they hold up,” says DAT’s Ken Harper. Flatbed picture remains volatile, though the Southeast is showing strength.

August 4, 2016

On a week-to-week basis, the national average van rate dipped a cent last week to $1.64 per mile. But load availability was also up, and load-to-truck ratios improved. Those positive signals are usually followed by rate increases. Memphis had more loads last week, as it replaced Houston as the number 3 market for load availability, following Atlanta and Dallas. Memphis outbound rates were down for the week, but rates are rising in the Midwest, starting with Columbus. This could be due to retail re-stocking for back-to-school season, which would be a good sign.

Spot market update: Seasonal reefer slump continues, van and flat show more strength

In this weekly spot market demand update, trends show the typical mid-July freight slump isn’t as bad for some truckers as it was in previous years. Flat rates are rising, van volumes holding, but reefer is showing typical seasonality.

July 28, 2016

Atlanta, Dallas and Houston are the top three markets for load posts on DAT load boards, but outbound van rates are dropping in all three places. When rates fall in so-called “head haul” markets, however, the return rates tend to rise. You don’t have to go into Denver or Seattle to enjoy a rate increase, just be aware of the trends in both directions of any round trip before you choose a load and a destination. As for the lightening demand picture in the map compared to prior weeks: “If the past is the preface to the future,” says DAT’s Ken Harper, “look for the color to come back into the Hot States maps in late August to mid-September.”

Dog days of freight, rates setting in?

“Bad news, good news,” says DAT’s Ken Harper, looking at the spot market picture within the last week — less freight, suggesting the typically “Summertime Blues” this time of year may finally be settling in.

July 21, 2016

You can always find a load in Atlanta, but it may pay less than it did in June. Rates declined on most northbound lanes out of Atlanta and Charlotte last week. Memphis rates mostly held steady, but a 15-cents-per-mile spike on the lane to Columbus was a bright spot in an otherwise quiet week. Pricing was relatively stable in the Northeast and Midwest, but dropped down slightly in Dallas and Houston. Rates also drifted down in Los Angeles.

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