BEAVERTON, Ore. — Total load posts on DAT One slipped to 3.28 million during the week of April 19-25, down 2% from the prior week.
Truck posts fell faster—down 8% to 213,879—as carriers trimmed their availability on the load board to the lowest week 17 total on record.
Spot Rates are Outperforming Historical Averages
“Across all three equipment types, current spot-market pricing is roughly 25% higher than five-year averages (excluding pandemic-affected years), indicating a sustained, high-cost market environment,” said Dean Croke, industry analyst, DAT Freight & Analytics.
The national 7-day average broker-to-carrier spot van and reefer rates were essentially flat, while flatbed kept climbing on tighter capacity. The following are all-in rates, the amount paid by the broker to the carrier:
7-Day Average Broker-to-Carrier Spot Rates
— Dry van: $2.35 per mile, flat week over week
— Refrigerated: $2.71 per mile, flat
â–² Flatbed: $3.03 per mile, up 5 cents
Van: Load and Truck Posts Shifted Lower
â–¼ Van loads: 1,141,881, down 6% week over week
â–¼ Van equipment: 153,312, down 10%
— Linehaul rate: $1.99 per mile, flat week over week
â–² Load-to-truck ratio: 7.4, up from 7.1 the prior week
“The national weekly average linehaul van rate held firm at $1.99 per mile,” Croke said. “This is 25% higher year over year and 23% above the five-year average.”
Reefer: Capacity Tightened Sharply
â–¼ Reefer loads: 510,432, down 1% week over week
â–¼ Reefer equipment: 38,609, down 7%
— Linehaul rate: $2.35 per mile, flat
â–² Load-to-truck ratio: 13.2, up from 12.4
“The national weekly average linehaul reefer rate leveled off at $2.35 a mile after three weeks of declines,” Croke said. “Despite flat load-posting volumes, tighter capacity pushed the average load-to-truck ratio up to 13.2 from 12.4 the previous week.”
Flatbed: Spot Rates Kept Climbing
— Flatbed loads: 1,627,584, roughly flat week over week
â–¼ Flatbed equipment: 21,958, down 2%
â–² Linehaul rate: $2.66 per mile, up 5 cents
â–² Load-to-truck ratio: 74.1, up from 73.0
“At $2.66 per mile, the national weekly average linehaul flatbed rate reached a new peak for the year last week,” Croke said. “It was 8 cents shy of the all-time high set in June 2021 and was 23% higher year over year.”
Diesel Prices Remain Uncomfortably High
“The retail price of diesel averaged $5.35 a gallon during the week ending April 27, according to the EIA,” Croke said. “While the average has fallen each week this month, diesel costs $1.47 more per gallon than it did at the end of February.”
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.
