Spot Market

November’s TVI dry van freight reading—at 197—fell 18% compared to October, while falling 12% annually. The November refrigerated (reefer) TVI—at 172—was down 11% sequentially and off 6.0% annually. And the flatbed TVI—at 243—was down 22% sequentially and posted a 3% annual gain.   

October spot truckload volumes and rates were largely mixed again, according to the new edition of the DAT Truckload Volume Index, which was recently released by DAT Freight and Analytics.

Following August spot truckload volume and rate declines, September readings were more mixed, while conditions largely remained the same, according to the new edition of the DAT Truckload Volume Index, which was released today by DAT Freight and Analytics.

In this podcast, Jeff Berman, Group News Editor for Logistics Management and the Peerless Media Supply Chain Group, interviews Chris Burroughs, President & CEO of the Transportation Intermediaries Association

While a prolonged soft freight market remains intact, contractual rates are moving higher and momentum is building.

For the week of December 1-6, DAT reported that 2.18 million loads were available, representing a 114% sequential increase, as well as posting the highest weekly tally since the week before the July 4 holiday.

DAT reported that 1.02 million loads were available, representing a 46% sequential decline and a 12% annual increase. The firm added that there was a total of 223,837 available trucks posted on the DAT One network, falling 30% sequentially and down 25% compared to Thanksgiving week in 2023.  

DAT's Ken Adamo notes September showed the spot truckload market is firmly into a new freight cycle after nearly 22 months of rather extreme expansion and 27 months of contraction.

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The van TVI, at 245, down 4% compared to January, with the reefer TVI, at 193, down 4% compared to January, and the flatbed TVI, at 242, increased 3% compared to January.

Seasonal trends impacted lower spot market volumes and rates in the September edition of the DAT Truckload Volume Index.

September’s TVI dry van freight reading—at 228—was off 13.7% compared to what it called “an unusually active August,” while remaining in line with previous years. And it added that the TVI was 2.9% below September 2021 and up 1.8% compared to September 2020. The September refrigerated (reefer) TVI was down 9.7% to 168, and the flatbed TVI was down 10.5%, to 231.

Logistics Management Group News Editor Jeff Berman recently interviewed Tom Schmitt, CEO of Greenville, Tenn.-based asset-light freight and logistics services provider Forward Air. In a wide-ranging conversation, Schmitt provided Berman with an overview on various supply chain- and logistics-related topics, including: the freight economy, inflation, taking steps to manage driver turnover and Forward Air's road map for growth, among others.

April’s TVI dry van freight reading—at 273—was off 10% compared to March, with the refrigerated TVI—at 190—and the flatbed TVI—at 229—down 10% and 6%, respectively, for the same period. DAT observed that while truckload volumes usually see a decline from March to April, “with freight movement in a seasonal lull,” that was not the case this April, with the April TVI seeing van freight up 12%, reefers up 10.5%, and flatbed loads up 15.1%, which DAT said serves as an indicator of...

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