BEAVERTON, Ore. — Spot truck and load posts jumped 114% week over week as the spot market returned to seasonal norms as shippers restocked, according to DAT One.
Dry van demand nudged rates higher
“Demand for dry vans resulted in a 1-cent increase in the national average van linehaul rate to $1.72 a mile,” said Dean Croke, DAT iQ industry analyst. “That’s 7 cents more than last year and 8 cents lower than the same week in 2022. The linehaul rate on DAT’s Top 50 van lanes (based on the volume of loads moved) averaged $2.06 a mile. That’s up 1 cent week over week and 34 cents higher than the weekly national average.”
At 2.18 million, the number of loads on the DAT One marketplace increased by 114% compared to the previous week and was the highest since the week before the July 4 holiday. There were 266,747 trucks on the network, up 19%. Tight capacity relative to demand pushed load-to-ratios higher for all three equipment types.
Note that comparing a full week to a three-day week can produce outsized percentage differences in trucks and loads posted.
Dry Vans
▲ Van loads: 1.14 million, up 108% week over week
▲ Van equipment: 175,497, up 20.7%
▲ Linehaul rate: $1.72 net fuel, up 1 cent
▲ Load-to-truck ratio: 6.5, up from 3.8
Reefers
▲ Reefer loads: 483,159, up 117.5% week over week
▲ Reefer equipment: 55,749, up 11.3%
— Linehaul rate: $2.05 net fuel, unchanged
▲ Load-to-truck ratio: 8.7, up from 4.4
Flatbeds
▲ Flatbed loads: 561,113, up 123.1% week over week
▲ Flatbed equipment: 35,501, up 25.2%
▼ Linehaul rate: $1.97 net fuel, down 1 cent
According to Croke, reefer rates were flat last week. At $2.05 a mile, the national average linehaul reefer rate was 11 cents higher than last year and 4 cents lower than the same week in 2022.
Mexican produce imports gearing up
“Most Mexican produce enters the United States via the Pharr International Bridge near McAllen, Texas,” Croke said. “The McAllen reefer market is reporting 34% higher truckload volume than last year, while capacity has tightened somewhat, with outbound spot rates up 2% year over year. Almost a third of McAllen’s volume is destined for the Dallas-Fort Worth market. Reefer truckload volumes from McAllen to Dallas-Fort Worth are up 32% year over year, while at the same time, sufficient spot reefer capacity has kept outbound linehaul rates on the lane flat at around $2.60 a mile.”
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
