BEAVERTON, Ore. —According to the latest numbers from the DAT Truckload Volume Index, the number of trucks posted on the load board for June 16-23 was the lowest non-holiday week posting since week four in 2022.
Data from DAT One and DAT RateView also noted that the number of available flatbed loads was 47% lower than the pre/post-pandemic average for Week 25 (1.16 million loads). Spot load and truck-posting numbers are expected to jump this week ahead of the July 4 holiday.
The number of load posts on DAT One increased 2.3% to 2.16 million last week. That’s 3% higher year over year. The total number of trucks on DAT One decreased by 7.3% to 317,550. That’s 27% lower year over year and 20% lower than the same week in 2019.
Dry Vans
▲ Van loads: 1,055,574, up 9.3% week over week. 12% higher year over year
▼ Van equipment: 210,579, down 7.2%
▲ Load-to-truck ratio: 5.0, up from 4.3
▲ Linehaul rate: $1.68 net fuel, up 2 cents week over week
Reefers
▲ Reefer loads: 483,108, up 11.9% week over week. 6% higher year over year
▼ Reefer equipment: 61,590, down 10.4%
▲ Load-to-truck ratio: 7.8, up from 6.3
▲ Linehaul rate: $2.00 net fuel, up 2 cents
Flatbeds
▼ Flatbed loads: 624,143, down 12.8% week over week. 12% lower year over year
▼ Flatbed equipment: 45,381, down 3.5%
▼ Load-to-truck ratio: 13.7, down from 15.6
▼ Linehaul rate: $2.06 net fuel, down 2 cents
“We’re entering an unusual stage in the freight market as the market bounces along the bottom of a trough—and we may be here for some time, said DAT Principal Analyst Dean Croke. “Truckload carriers are aggressively calibrating their fleet size to match softening demand, but they’re also ordering more new trucks ahead of the 2027 EPA Clean Trucks Plan, which could add as much as $30,000 to the cost of new trucks.”
“More used trucks are hitting the market and use-truck prices are falling, making it attractive for new capacity to enter an already oversupplied industry,” Croke said. “The 2027 pre-buy cannot be ignored, as it’s one of the main reasons we think capacity will keep a lid on any meaningful improvement in spot and contract rates this year.”
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.
