Spot load and truck posts see holiday-driven decline, reports DAT

Data recently issued on the DAT One Network provided to LM by DAT Freight & Analytics showed expected 4^th of July-driven declines for spot market load and truck posts, for the week of June 29-July 5.

“There were 1.93 million loads on the DAT One network during the week of June 29 to July 5 (Week 27),” said DAT. “That’s down 20% compared to the previous week, which is expected when comparing a holiday week to a full workweek. The number of truck posts also decreased by 20% to 192,354. Tighter capacity and the urgency to move freight by June 30, the end of Q2, pushed national average van and reefer spot rates higher.”

The weekly breakdown for van loads, van equipment, load-to-truck ration and linehaul rates for Dry Vans, Reefers (refrigerated), and flatbeds provided by DAT is below:

Dry Vans:

• Van loads: 866,984, down 21% week-over-week;
• Van equipment: 131,267, down 21%;
• Linehaul rate: $1.70 net fuel, up $0.05; and
• Loads per truck, at 6.6, down from 6.7, with the 4-week average, at 5.9, trending up

Reefers:

• Reefer loads: 532,371, down 10% week-over-week;
• Reefer equipment: 48,288, down 15%;
• Linehaul rate: $2.05 net fuel, up $0.10; and
• Loads per truck, at 13.9, up from 13.2, with the 4-week average, at 11.2, trending up

Flatbeds:

• Flatbed loads: 535,527, down 28% week over week;
• Flatbed equipment: 27,299, down 23%;
• Linehaul rate: $2.10 net fuel, down $0.02 cent; and
• Loads per truck, at 23.5, down from 25.1, with the 4-week average, at 24.2, trending down

Broker-to-carrier 7-day average spot rates:

• Dry van: $2.07 per mile, up $0.05 cent week-over-week
• Refrigerated: $2.42 per mile, up $0.10; and
• Flatbed: $2.47 per mile, down $0.01

DAT iQ industry analyst Dean Croke observed that reefer capacity tightened last week, especially in the South, pushing spot rates higher. Key lanes included:

• Atlanta-Lakeland, Fla.: $3.26 per mile; 15% week-over-week increase in loads moved
• Dallas-Houston: $2.78 per mile; 11% increase in loads moved
• Houston-Dallas: $2.60 per mile; 20% increase in loads moved
• McAllen-Fort Worth: $2.64 per mile; 15% increase in loads moved

“At $2.46 per mile, California-outbound reefer loads paid carriers 5 cents more per mile last week,” said Croke. “This represents a 27-cent decline year over year on a 23% decrease in produce shipments. A rule of thumb about fuel and operating costs: a 10-cent change in the national average diesel price is equivalent to a 1-cent-per-mile shift in the operating cost for a small fleet or owner-operator buying at the pump. Diesel rose 1 cent to $3.739 per gallon last week, according to EIA. That’s up nearly 30 cents over the previous four weeks, representing a 3-cent increase in an average truckload carrier’s cost per mile in June.”