Spot truckload hundreds see slight decline, stories DAT

Information not too long ago issued by DAT Freight & Analytics, a web based market for spot market truckload freight, and the DAT iQ information analytics service, confirmed a slight improve within the variety of obtainable hundreds on the spot truckload freight market, for the week ending August 1.

DAT reported that the variety of obtainable hundreds on the spot truckload freight market elevated 0.3%, and the variety of obtainable vehicles, for the week, was off 1.2% on a sequential foundation. The agency defined that whereas spot market truckload charges often see a seasonal dip following the July 4 vacation, that was not the case this yr, with charges remaining excessive all through the month.

Driving these greater charges, it mentioned, was demand out of Southern California, in addition to different port markets, too. And it added that July volumes had been down in comparison with June, which it mentioned represents the busiest month on report, with the variety of obtainable van, refrigerated and flatbed hundreds on the DAT community down 17.1% whereas capability was off 6.6%.

DAT highlighted some key information factors, for the week ending August 1, together with:

• the typical van fee was $2.73 per mile, matching the typical for July. In DAT’s prime 100 van freight markets by quantity, the variety of hundreds moved elevated 2.5%, for the week;
• Los Angeles to Chicago averaged $3.13 per mile for spot van freight and the variety of hundreds moved soared 39.9% within the final 4 weeks. DAT mentioned that the continuing chassis trailer scarcity has been exacerbated by higher-than-normal container dwell instances for native container supply and intermodal rail automobiles to maneuver containers east. All of that is contributing to greater spot market truckload volumes off the West Coast as shippers battle with diminished intermodal capability on freight lanes to congested inland locations;
• the variety of reefer hundreds rose 4% final week whereas truck posts declined 1%, and the nationwide common reefer load-to-truck ratio inched up from 12.8 to 13.5 final week and the nationwide common spot reefer fee rose 1.7% to a mean of $3.15 per mile (charges embrace a gas surcharge); and
• the nationwide common spot flatbed fee held at $3.00 per mile final week, 11 cents lower than the July common. Flatbed load-post volumes fell 2% week over week and are actually down 4% over the past month. Capability tightened with an 8% lower in tools posts in comparison with the earlier week, which pushed the flatbed load-to-truck ratio greater from 44.6 to 47.4

In a current interview, DAT Chief of Analytics Ken Adamo instructed LM that there’s a lot of typical seasonality current.

“We proceed to see capability not with the ability to sustain with demand,” he mentioned. “That basically is the story…and main to those greater than seasonally typical circumstances. Frankly, it’s greater than what you’ll anticipate from a long-term pattern perspective.”

Addressing contract truckload charges, Adamo defined that spot charges lead contract charges, in what he referred to as a really pronounced relationship.

“It’s a operate of route, length (how lengthy charges are up or down), and magnitude,” he mentioned. “Spot charges have been up for a very long time by a big quantity so that nearly essentially brings up contract charges. Shippers are attempting to maneuver their freight again into the contract market. When you take the speed facet out of it, they’re attempting to decrease their freight transactions on the contract market and get their routing guides again in form. The one manner for that’s for carriers to forgo the extremely popular spot market and return to their outdated contract charges and entice them with will increase of their contract charges, whether or not they’re a typical service or a primary service within the routing information.”

What’s extra, for the higher a part of the final yr, Adamo mentioned that shippers have been placing in greater and better contract charges, with the intent of engaging capability again into the routing information, which has largely failed, as spot market charges are nonetheless excessive and there was no enticement again to the contract market.

“If the market is often 85%-15%, for contract to identify and it goes to 80%-20%, 5 p.c of a trillion {dollars} is some huge cash,” he mentioned.