DAT Solutions: Flatbed load-to-truck ratio hits a record high

The number of load posts on DAT MembersEdge was up 5 percent, and truck posts rose 3 percent last week – not dramatic changes, but they are signs that the economy continues to hum.

Unless you’re a flatbed hauler. The demand for trucks to move construction materials, machinery and other flatbed loads last week hit an all-time peak. The flatbed load-to-truck ratio was 88.5, up 11 percent from 79.9 the previous week. It was 61.8 a month ago and has never been higher.

The van ratio was 6.8, down slightly, while the reefer ratio was 10.5, virtually unchanged compared to the previous week.

Diesel drops
The national average price of diesel fell 1.5 cents last week to a national average of $2.97 per gallon. That’s about 41 cents higher than this time last year.

National average rates

• Flatbed: $2.50 per mile, up 11 cents compared to the previous week
• Van: $2.14 per mile, unchanged for the third week
• Reefer: $2.40 per mile, unchanged after six weeks of declines

Flatbed trends
The number of flatbed load posts increased 10.8 percent last week while truck posts dipped 1 percent. That was good news for rates, which were higher on 50 of the top 78 flatbed lanes last week. The strongest markets were in the sunbelt.

Hot flatbed markets
Houston is the top market for flatbed loads. Volumes jumped up 11 percent and the average outbound rate gained 10 cents to $2.67 per mile on DAT Trendlines. Of the biggest flatbed markets, Phoenix still has the lowest outbound rates and averaged just $1.80 per mile. However, prices on several key lanes from that market had sharp increases last week.

Cool climes
It has been hard to find fault with flatbed rates and volumes in recent weeks but the prospects are better where the weather is warmer. Rates on many Midwest and Northeast lanes were down last week.

Pittsburgh-Grand Rapids, Mich., fell 42 cents to $3.42 per mile; Cleveland-Harrisburg, Pa., was down 41 cents to $3.99 per mile; and Rock Island, Ill.-Indianapolis, was 41 cents lower to $3.26 per mile.

Van trends
After two weeks of rising volumes, the number of van loads slipped 1 percent last week while truck posts increased 3 percent. The result was a mostly neutral week in terms of van rates on our top 100 lanes. Overall, 51 lanes were up, 39 were down, and 10 were unchanged.

Hot van market
A gateway for cross-border freight, Buffalo rebounded after several weeks of declining volumes. Two lanes showed healthy rate increases. Buffalo-Chicago gained 21 cents to $2.11 per mile, and Buffalo-Columbus, Ohio, was up 20 cents to $2.36 per mile.

Reefer trends
Reefer load posts increased 4 percent while truck posts increased 5 percent. That caused the national load-to-truck ratio for reefers to decline slightly to 10.5 loads per truck.

Rates are derived from DAT RateView, which provides real-time reports on prevailing spot market and contract rates, as well as historical rate and capacity trends. All reported rates include fuel surcharges.

For the latest spot market load availability and rate information, visit the MyMembersEdge.com load board or tune in to Land Line Now. You can get all of the latest rate information at dat.com/industry-trends/trendlines, comment on the DAT Freight Talk blog, or join us on Facebook. On Twitter you can tweet your questions to us @LoadBoards and have your questions answered by DAT industry analyst Mark Montague.