Tag: spot market: Page 22

Spot market update: Reefer warming with the weather, van gaining steam

momentum in carriers’ favor, said DAT’s Ken Harper in this week’s weekly spot market update, continuing the momentum seen in recent weeks for both the reefer segment and van and flatbed segments. More here…

March 24, 2016

Spot market van, reefer, flat update: March living up to its name

Here’s the skinny — and more detail on hot markets — on activity and rate movement within the last week in flatbed (up), reefer (up in spots) and van (fairly flat) segments.

March 17, 2016

Flatbed load volume rose 4 percent and posted truck capacity declined 5 percent last week for a 9 percent increase in the load-to-truck ratio, now at 16.1 for flatbeds — that’s well up from the 12.6 ratio in Overdrive‘s last flat update two weeks ago. While rates rose on 44 of the top 72 flatbed lanes, the national average flatbed rate fell 1 cent to $1.82 per mile. Volume is surging in areas where construction activity is picking up, though, and rates are following, including outbound from Reno (up 19 cents to $2.26 per mile), Phoenix (up 18 cents to $1.75), Harrisburg, Pa. (a 31-cent gain to $2.96), and Jacksonville, Fla. (up 18 cents to $2.45). On the downside, recent steel plant shutdowns have hurt prices on some popular lanes out of Cleveland.

Spring freight season has sprung? Spot market volume up in the last week

“Spring appears to have (been) sprung,” notes DAT’s Ken Harper with this week’s spot market update. “Loads up, rates up, hyacinths too” in comparison to the previous week’s numbers.

March 10, 2016

The national average rate for van rates got a 2-cent bump last week to $1.56 per mile with the increased load posts and decline in trucks. The van load-to-truck ratio rose from 1.4 to 1.6. At once, there are some geographic shifts happening and rates are adjusting in both directions. Hot spots in the U.S. economy boosted small markets like Decatur, Ala.; Texarkana, Texas; and Rapid City, S.D.

Flatbed volume growing in Southeast — rates still lag

While Spring might be coming a little early for flatbeds in the Southeast with freight volume and demand indicators rising, rates continued to move lower in the last week of February.

March 3, 2016

Flatbed load-to-truck ratios, a demand indicator that favors truckers when the ratio is high, have been rising throughout February. Nationally, the ratio ended the month at 12.6 loads per truck. Mild winter weather gives the flatbed freight season an early start. Demand has been especially strong in the Southeast, although declining steel shipments led to a reduction in flatbed freight volume coming out of Birmingham, Ala. Outbound volume was also down in Cleveland, Ohio, due to steel’s slump, but Pittsburgh, Pa., was up for the month.

Van spot market: Demand ticked up in the last week

Last week saw van demand rebound from the winter doldrums slightly last week, with the average load-to-truck ratio moving up to 1.4 loads per truck.

February 25, 2016

“Parts of Texas are looking good,” noted DAT’s Mark Montague. “What’s not consists of Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio, all of which had load-trucks ratios below 1.0 on Tuesday. West Texas has good load availability, and Houston, surprisingly, is on the edge of tight. Laredo is another market that looks strong this week. Lastly, Texarkana is another pocket of strong demand.

Overdrive Extra

Diesel’s roller-coaster ride: The thrill is gone, but not for all

Now that fuel surcharges are more entrenched, the plunge to below $2 a gallon after about three years in the $4 range has generated much less notice than similar price swings in prior years — though that’s not a blanket truth for everyone.

February 23, 2016

Fuel surcharges have largely gutted the downside impacts of diesel price volatility, but not for all operators.

February on the spot market: The good, the bad and the ugly

“We’d like nothing more than for March to come in like a lion, and go out like a pack of lions,” noted Ken Harper attendant to this week’s spot market update from the DAT network of load boards. “But we have to get through February first.”

February 18, 2016

The national average van rate slipped to $1.58 per mile last week, including fuel, which has been falling about a cent a mile for several weeks now. New seasonal demand in March typically leads to a bump in prices. At the risk of stating the obvious, for many carriers March can’t get here soon enough.

Reefer, van spot market update: Rates ‘may have finally bottomed out’

Weekly spot market update for first week of February, the slowest month on DAT’s load boards, shows reefer lulls in the very-low-demand Pacific Northwest, as well as Florida and Georgia. Southern-border reefer activity is beating California, too.

February 11, 2016

Reefer rates fell another 3 cents to a national average of $1.85 per mile last week, including a 1¢ decline in the average fuel surcharge. Rates rose for hauls originating in Sacramento, Calif.; Nogales, Ariz.; Dallas; and Lakeland, Fla., but outbound rates fell sharply for reefers in Green Bay, Wis., where they remained on average higher than more Southern origin points, and Elizabeth, N.J. For more on what’s happening with reefer rates, read Matt Sullivan’s analysis this week at this link.

Spot market rates update: Van, flatbed sink in January while reefer sees small gain

Spot market rate averages in all three major truckload segments compiled from January transaction data.

February 9, 2016

The winter blues: This week’s spot freight, rates update

Demand fell nationally for vans, but it’s likely to heat up with better weather in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions this week as the area digs out from under 2 to 3 feet of snow. …

January 28, 2016

Van rates fell another 3 cents to a national average of $1.65 per mile last week, including a 1 cent decline in the average fuel surcharge. Pent-up demand may drive rates up on the East Coast this week.

Fuel prices putting a damper on rates as winter freight season settles in

Rates fell for hauls originating in Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta and Philadelphia, but strong freight volume may lead to a rebound on the most popular lanes this week or next.

January 21, 2016

Spot market truck demand fell, too, taking rates with it — the national load-to-truck ratio was down from 2.7 to 1.7 loads per truck last week, though that level was a more typical result for the slow winter season, DAT says, than the prior weeks. The hot states map for last week still shows a lull on the West and East Coasts, with the greater demand balance shifting to the cold Upper Midwest. This week’s hot individual markets include Missoula, Mont.; Rapid City, S.D.; Eau Claire, Wis.; Rock Island, Ill.; Decatur, Ga.; Erie, Pa.; and Syracuse, N.Y.. Those cities offer solid load volume and high load-to-truck ratios today, but local conditions can change quickly. Be sure to check on outbound load availability before you go in.

Van, flatbed rates ticked up in December to end five-month decline, reefer rates continue tumble

Per-mile sppt market rates in van and flatbed segments climbed a penny in December, while paid reefer rates fell three cents, according to Truckstop.com data.

January 19, 2016

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