DAT Freight & Analytics

The February van load-to-truck ratio, at 7.5, was up from January’s 4.3, setting a new record, with the reefer ratio, at 15.9, also set a new record, and coming in ahead of January’s 8.2 ratio, with the flatbed ratio going from 47.9 in January to 62.2 in February

DAT noted that the week of February 21 was the busiest week ever for load postings on the DAT network, with the total number of available loads exceeding 10 million and was 42% higher than the previous record set in June 2018 and 174% higher compared to the same period last year. A DAT spokesman told LM that, for perspective, the DAT network had 226 million loads posted last year, meaning that the activity from the week of February 21 represented almost 5% of last year’s traffic...

While the truckload spot market finished 2020 from a position of strength, in that it hit various highs, DAT Freight and Analytics recently pointed out that spot rates have subsequently fallen 10% since the end of the year and are pegged to head down another 8%-to-10% in the coming weeks.

The firm reported that spot truckload freight postings, for the week ending December 13, fell 15%, and trucks available on the spot market rose 13%, which it said serves as an indication that spot truckload capacity is loosening up in advance of Christmas.

The September edition of the DAT Truckload Volume Index, which was issued this week by DAT Freight & analytics, an online marketplace for spot market truckload freight, picked up where August left off, posting all-time highs for spot market rates for van and refrigerated, or reefer, truckload freight.