Spot load posts level out at low point for 2022 on MembersEdge

The total number of spot load posts on DAT MembersEdge slipped 1% during the week of June 19-25 from 3.27 million to 3.24 million posts. While not dramatically different week over week, it’s the lowest weekly total so far this year.

Dry van load posts increased 4.5% week over week and flatbed load posts fell 10.1% after declining 11% the previous week. Reefer load posts jumped 18% last week with temperature-controlled freight moving ahead of the Fourth of July weekend.

This should be one of the busier weeks for spot freight as it combines the end of a fiscal quarter with the lead-up to a holiday. Shippers are motivated to get goods off their docks and in transit to customers, while capacity tends to tighten ahead of a long weekend.

Truck availability

The total number of trucks on the load board fell 2.1% week over week. Dry van equipment posts declined 1.5% compared to the previous week, reefer equipment posts fell 3.1%, and flatbed equipment posts were down 3.1%.

Truck posts last week were 16% higher year over year and 10% higher versus the same week in 2019, when spot-market capacity was considered flush.

Load-to-truck ratios were steady for vans and reefers. Vans averaged 3.7 loads per truck as a national average, up from 3.5 the previous week. The reefer ratio was 7.6, up from 6.3, and the flatbed ratio was 33.7, down from 36.5. A higher ratio usually means better pricing power for the carrier.

Spot rates slipped as a national average last week.

• Vans: $2.71 per mile, down 1 cent from the previous week.
• Reefers: $3.00 a mile, up 2 cents.
• Flatbeds: $3.33 a mile, down 2 cents.

Spot rates are negotiated on a per-transaction basis and do not include a separate fuel surcharge. When you subtract an amount equal to a national average fuel surcharge to determine a line-haul rate, spot van freight averaged $1.93 a mile, down 42 cents year over year; reefers, $2.23 a mile, down 51 cents; and flatbeds, $2.56 a mile, down 13 cents compared to the same week in 2021.

Last week the Energy Information Agency did not release its benchmark diesel prices, which are used for fuel surcharge calculations.

Market to watch: Decatur, Ala.

Overall, flatbed load-post volumes have dropped almost 40% in the last month and are now 26% lower than the previous year. Like dry van and reefer segments, flatbed equipment posts are at their highest level in six years and 15% higher than the last year.

Decatur, Ala., bucked that trend last week, with the number of posted loads up 23% compared to the previous week. Decatur is a key market for steel production and distribution. The 660-mile haul to Kansas City, Mo., paid an average of $4.78 a mile, 52 cents better than the May average. Subtracting an average fuel surcharge, the rate drops 89 cents to $3.89 a mile, which is still 47 cents better year over year.

For more information

Get more detail into freight trends on MembersEdge at DAT.com, and listen to Land Line Now every Wednesday for the latest spot-market update.

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Listen to this week’s Land Line Now discussion about freight trends with Dean Croke of DAT.