BEAVERTON, Ore. — With the Independence Day holiday and the remnants of now Tropical Storm Beryl on a path expected to make its way through Texas, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and beyond, the number of loads and trucks on DAT fell sharply.
“Hurricane Beryl made landfall near Matagorda, Texas, about 85 miles south-southwest of Houston, packing maximum sustained winds of 80 mph,” said DAT Principal Analyst, Dean Croke. “Truckload capacity tightened in Gulf Coast markets, especially for van and flatbed freight.
According to Croke, import volumes at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are expected to increase 45% year-over-year (y/y) in the second week of July as shippers pull forward holiday season inventory ahead of possible East Coast labor action by the International Longshoreman Association (ILA).
“Key outbound lanes include Stockton and Phoenix, where loads moved are already up 45% and 28% month-over-month (m/m), respectively,” Croke said. “On the same lanes, spot rates are up 3.5% and 4.5% m/m, respectively.”
Load posts on DAT One fell 48% during the July 4 holiday week according to spot market data for June 30-July 6, 2024 (Week 27).
The number of loads posted on DAT One dropped 48% to 1.26 million last week, while the number of trucks posted fell 21% to 262,943. Last week included the July 4 holiday, which many businesses took off as a four-day weekend. The holiday suppressed volumes compared to the prior week, one of the busiest on the freight calendar, with 2.4 million loads posted.
Dry Vans
▼ Van loads: 618,011, down 49.9% week over week
▼ Van equipment: 172,876, down 21.9%
▼ Load-to-truck ratio: 3.6, down from 5.7
— Linehaul rate: $1.70 net fuel, unchanged week over week
Reefers
▼ Reefer loads: 317,301, down 42.6% week over week
▼ Reefer equipment: 54,335, down 15.4%
▼ Load-to-truck ratio: 5.8, down from 8.7
▲ Linehaul rate: $2.04 net fuel, up 1 cent
Flatbeds
▼ Flatbed loads: 326,464, down 49.2% week over week
▼ Flatbed equipment: 35,732, down 25.9%
▼ Load-to-truck ratio: 9.1, down from 13.7
▼ Linehaul rate: $2.05 net fuel, down 3 cents
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.
