BEAVERTON, Ore. — Load posts on DAT One rose 2% to 2.26 million last week, while truck posts fell for the second consecutive week, down 5% to 232,703.
“There are strong signs that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity at Florida scalehouses is affecting capacity for brokers and reefer load-post volumes, up 33% in the last month and 13% in the previous week,” said Dean Croke, DAT iQ industry analyst. “In Lakeland, the state’s largest refrigerated freight market, reefer load posts surged by 28% last week compared to the week prior. There has been a 35% increase in Lakeland loads posted since Florida converted all truck weigh and agricultural inspection stations into checkpoints for immigration status and English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessments on commercial drivers. Despite the produce shipping season being months away, average outbound spot reefer rates in Lakeland have already risen by 10 cents per mile, 3 cents higher than at this time last year.”
National 7-day average spot linehaul van and reefer rates increased, a sign that demand to move goods ahead of Thanksgiving is starting to build. Spot rates are higher compared to this time last year. Combined with falling diesel prices, the rate increases are a welcome sign for truckers heading into the holiday season.
Broker-to-Carrier 7-Day Average Spot Rates
â–² Dry van: $2.08 per mile, up 1 cent week over week
â–² Refrigerated: $2.47 per mile, up 2 cents
— Flatbed: $2.44 per mile, unchanged
“The average linehaul van rate on DAT’s top 50 lanes by load volume was $2.00 per mile, unchanged for the second week,” Croke said. “In the 13 key Midwest states, which represent 46% of national load volume and often signal future national trends, the average rate increased by 2 cents to $1.95 per mile, 23 cents above the national 7-day rolling average.”
Dry Van
â–² Van loads: 996,159, up 2% week over week
â–¼ Van equipment: 159,906, down 6%
â–² Linehaul rate: $1.72 per mile, up 2 cents
Reefer
â–² Reefer loads: 548,573, up 9% week over week
â–¼ Reefer equipment: 42,521, down 6%
â–² Linehaul rate: $2.10 per mile, up 2 cents
“The McAllen, Texas, reefer market is seeing similar conditions,” Croke said. “Reefer load posts surged by 37% last week and 42% over the past month, with most loads destined for Brooklyn, N.Y., Elizabeth, N.J., Miami, and Los Angeles. Outbound McAllen reefer spot rates increased by 7 cents last week, reaching $2.03 per mile. This is 14 cents higher than last year. For the 1,600-mile haul to Los Angeles, carriers received an average of $2,910 per load, nearly $800 more than this time last year.”
Flatbed
â–¼ Flatbed loads: 720,922, down 3% week over week
— Flatbed equipment: 30,276, virtually unchanged
— Linehaul rate: $2.07 per mile, unchanged
U.S. National Average Diesel Price (Source: EIA)
â–¼ $3.62 per gallon, down 4 cents week over week. YOY: â–² 7 cents
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
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