BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — DAT One load posts totaled 3.3 million for the week of Sept. 27–Oct. 3, up 9% from the prior week, as quarter-end shipping helped lift freight activity.
“Equipment posts fell 8% to 170,691, with truck posts down for all three equipment types,” DAT Freight & Analytics said. “All-in and line-haul rates rose across the board.”
Diesel Impacts
The EIA’s national average on-highway diesel price used in this report’s fuel surcharge calculation was $6.529 a gallon (week ending Sept. 21), up 24.4 cents (4%) from $6.285 the week before and the highest weekly reading in its records going back to 2007. Diesel has eased since. The EIA reported $6.382 a gallon for the week ending Sept. 28, down 14.7 cents and the first weekly decline in four weeks. The fuel surcharge will reflect that price in next week’s On the Spot report.
“Fuel added to the gain,” said Dean Croke, industry analyst, DAT. “Diesel rose 24.4 cents a gallon, adding about 4 cents a mile to dry van and reefer surcharges and 5 cents to flatbed. Linehaul did most of the work for van and flatbed. For reefer, where linehaul rose about 2 cents, fuel accounted for roughly two-thirds of the all-in increase.”
7-Day Average Broker-to-Carrier Spot Rates (Linehaul + Fuel Surcharge)
â–² Van: $3.13 per mile, up 11 cents
â–² Reefer: $3.69 per mile, up 7 cents
â–² Flatbed: $3.71 per mile, up 11 cents
Dry Van: Van Posts Reflected the Quarter-End Surge
â–² Loads: 1,588,410, up 15%
â–¼ Trucks: 115,764, down 7%
â–² Linehaul rate: $2.25 per mile, up 7 cents
â–² Load-to-truck ratio: 13.7, up from 11.1 the prior week
“Van saw the largest increase in load posts,” Croke said. “Van load posts rose 15% while truck posts fell 7%, pushing the load-to-truck ratio to 13.7 from 11.1, nearly double Week 40 of last year. The Great Lakes posted the highest van rate among the top origin regions, at $2.59 a mile, up 10 cents on the week.”
According to Croke, the quarter closed with a push. Much of the week’s freight was timed to the calendar, as revenue and quota deadlines pulled loads out the door before the books closed. Overflow moved to the spot market as contract capacity filled. Load posts rose and truck posts fell for all three equipment types, lifting every load-to-truck ratio. The move looks like a quarter-end push rather than a lasting demand shift.
Reefer: Loads Rose as Trucks Thinned
â–² Loads: 710,211, up 9%
â–¼ Trucks: 32,806, down 12%
â–² Linehaul rate: $2.74 per mile, up 2 cents
â–² Load-to-truck ratio: 21.7, up from 17.6 the prior week
“Reefer tightened sharply,” Croke said. “Reefer had the steepest drop in trucks, down 12% against a 9% rise in loads, which lifted the ratio to 21.7 from 17.6. The Upper Midwest and Great Lakes posted the highest outbound reefer rates among the top origin regions, at $3.43 and $3.34 a mile.”
Flatbed: Still the Tightest of the Three
â–² Loads: 976,193, up 1%
â–¼ Trucks: 22,121, down 7%
â–² Linehaul rate: $2.65 per mile, up 6 cents
â–² Load-to-truck ratio: 44.1, up from 40.3 the prior week
“Flatbed remained the tightest market,” Croke said. “Load posts edged up 1% while truck posts fell 7%, and the ratio climbed to 44.1 from 40.3, the highest of the three by a wide margin. The Lower Atlantic posted the largest weekly gain among the top flatbed origins, up 21 cents to $2.85 a mile.”
According to Croke, linehaul rates are running about a third above last year. Van linehaul is up 34% year over year, reefer 33%, and flatbed 28%. Against the nine-year seasonal average for this week, van runs 21% higher, reefer 27%, and flatbed 25%. The 35-day DAT iQ RateCast forecast has van linehaul holding near $2.24 a mile in early November and reefer near $2.75, with flatbed easing to $2.62.
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.
