Posts Tagged “DAT”
BEAVERTON, Ore., June 15, 2023—Truckload freight volumes rallied modestly in May and national average spot rates were stable for a second straight month, said DAT Freight & Analytics, operators of the DAT One freight marketplace and DAT iQ data analytics service.
The DAT Truckload Volume Index (TVI), an indicator of loads moved during a given month, increased for van, refrigerated (“reefer”) and flatbed freight:
• Van TVI: 220, up 5% from April
• Reefer TVI: 164, a 5% increase month over month
• Flatbed TVI: 258, up 7% from April
Month over month, the van and reefer TVI numbers rebounded from their lowest points since February 2021. Truckload volumes typically decline from April to May, but they increased for the first time since 2019.
“This was the second-best May on record for van and reefer freight, according to our TVI,” said Ken Adamo, DAT Chief of Analytics. “There was demand to move seasonal goods at a time when the truck supply on the spot market tightened due to the International Roadcheck inspection event, the Memorial Day holiday and general carrier attrition.”
Van and reefer load-to-truck ratios increased
National average van and reefer load-to-truck ratios rose in May:
• Van ratio: 2.5, up from 1.9 in April, meaning there were 2.5 loads for every truck on the DAT One marketplace
• Reefer ratio: 3.6, up from 2.7
• Flatbed ratio: 11.7, down from 12.1
National average broker-to-carrier spot rates were steady compared to April:
• Spot van rate: $2.05 per mile, down 1 cent
• Spot reefer rate: $2.44 a mile, up 3 cents
• Spot flatbed rate: $2.65 a mile, down 2 cents
Monthly national average line-haul rates, which subtract an amount equal to an average fuel surcharge, increased for the first time this year for all three equipment types. The average van line-haul rate was $1.61 a mile, up 2 cents compared to April; the reefer line-haul rate jumped 7 cents to $1.96 a mile; and the flatbed line-haul rate rose 2 cents to $2.12 a mile.
Contract rates declined
National average rates for contracted freight declined compared to April:
• Contract van rate: $2.62 per mile, down 6 cents
• Contract reefer rate: $2.91 a mile, down 10 cents
• Contract flatbed rate: $3.30 a mile, down 3 cents
The average rate for contract van and reefer freight has fallen for seven consecutive months.
“Shippers are taking advantage of abundant truckload capacity to establish new contract rates at substantial savings compared to 2022, and to make strategic use of the spot market,” Adamo said. “We expect these trends to continue through the end of the year.”
About the DAT Truckload Volume Index
The DAT Truckload Volume Index reflects the change in the number of loads with a pickup date during that month; the actual index number is normalized each month to accommodate any new data sources without distortion. A baseline of 100 equals the number of loads moved in January 2015, as recorded in DAT RateView, a truckload pricing database and analysis tool with rates paid on an average of 3 million loads per month.
Spot truckload rates are negotiated for each load and paid to the carrier by a freight broker. National average spot rates are derived from payments to carriers by freight brokers, third-party logistics providers and other transportation buyers for hauls of 250 miles or more with a pickup date during the month reported. DAT’s rate analysis is based on $150 billion in annualized freight transactions.
Load-to-truck ratios reflect truckload supply and demand on the DAT One marketplace and indicate the pricing environment for spot truckload freight.
About DAT Freight & Analytics
DAT Freight & Analytics operates the largest truckload freight marketplace in North America. Shippers, transportation brokers, carriers, news organizations and industry analysts rely on DAT for market trends and data insights based on more than 400 million freight matches and a database of $150 billion in annual market transactions.
Founded in 1978, DAT is a wholly owned subsidiary of Roper Technologies (NYSE: ROP), a diversified technology company and constituent of the S&P 500 and Fortune 1000 indices.
DAT Freight & Analytics reports truckload freight volumes declined and national average spot rates for refrigerated loads fell for the fourth consecutive month in April.
The DAT Truckload Volume Index, a measure of loads moved during a given month, was lower for all three equipment types:
- Van TVI was 206, down 15.5% from March and 12.3% lower year over year.
- Reefer TVI fell to 154, a 16.3% decline from March and 12.5% lower year over year.
- Flatbed TVI was 239, 13.7% lower compared to March but 3.5% higher year over year.
It’s not unusual for truckload freight volumes to decline from March to April, according to the DAT report.
The van and reefer TVI numbers were the lowest since February 2021, when a polar vortex and unprecedented winter storms disrupted logistics activity across large areas of the U.S. and Canada.
“May will be pivotal for shippers, brokers and carriers,” Ken Adamo, DAT’s chief of analytics, said in the release. “After a challenging first four months of the year, we expect to see the effects of seasonality on freight volumes and rates. The question is how sustainable those effects will be.”
National average load-to-truck ratios decreased, indicating weaker demand for truckload capacity on the spot market.
The last time van and reefer ratios were this low was in May and April 2020, respectively, during the supply chain shocks of the pandemic:
- The van ratio was 1.9, down from 2.0 in March, and 3.4 in April 2022.
- The reefer ratio was 2.7, down from 3.0 in March and 6.3 year over year.
- The flatbed ratio was 12.1, down from 12.1 in March and 64.5 year over year.
Lower demand for truckload services led to a drop in national average spot van and reefer rates, the report said:
- The spot van rate averaged $2.06 per mile, down 10 cents compared to March and 71 cents lower year over year.
- The spot reefer rate fell 9 cents to $2.41 a mile, 72 cents lower than in April 2022.
- The spot flatbed rate dipped 4 cents to $2.67 a mile, down 70 cents year over year.
Fuel surcharge amounts fell 2 cents to an average of 47 cents a mile for van freight, 52 cents for reefers and 57 cents for flatbeds, the report said. At $4.10 a gallon, the price of diesel was 11 cents lower compared to March.
DAT said the national average rates for contracted freight were lower compared to March, but the spread between contract and spot rates rose to near all-time highs: 62 cents for van freight, 60 cents reefers and 66 cents for flatbeds.
Adamo called the spread between spot and contract rates “an indicator of where we’re at in the freight cycle — the balance of bargaining power among shippers, brokers and carriers.” For the gap to close, two things need to happen.
“One, the supply of trucks on the spot market needs to diminish, which unfortunately means more carriers exiting the market,” he said. “Two, there needs to be higher demand for trucks — in other words, shippers with more loads than they planned for.”
In 2016 and 2019, it was the third week in May when the spot market entered a recovery phase after prolonged declines and stagnation, Adamo said in the release.
“Seasonality kicked in and shippers needed more trucks to move fresh produce, construction materials, imports and summer and back-to-school retail goods,” Adamo said. “If we see an uptick in demand before Memorial Day, it will be a welcome sign for owner-operators and small carriers as we head into the summer and fall.”
Prices for truckload services spiked to their highest levels yet in October, reflecting shippers’ willingness to pay a premium to move goods through their supply chains.
The DAT Truckload Volume Index (TVI) was 239 in October, up 2% from September. An industry-standard indicator of freight activity, the TVI is a measure of dry van, refrigerated (“reefer”) and flatbed loads moved by truckload carriers last month.
“Congested ports, intermodal yards and warehouses acted as a drag on the number of loads moved last month,” said Ken Adamo, Chief of Analytics at DAT Freight & Analytics. “As a result, retailers and online sellers took on higher truckload prices in order to make sure their freight is positioned for success for the November and December shopping period.”
Spot van, reefer rates surged
• The national average rate for van loads on the spot market rose 3 cents to $2.87 per mile (including fuel surcharge) in October. The monthly average rate has increased for five consecutive months and is up 47 cents year over year.
• Reefer and flatbed spot rates averaged more than $3 a mile for the sixth straight month. The reefer rate was $3.29 per mile, up 4 cents compared to September and a new high. The flatbed rate decreased 1 cent to $3.08 a mile in October amid a seasonal drop in freight related to construction and heavy machinery.
Spot load postings fell 3.3%
• The number of loads posted to the DAT load board network fell 3.3% in October while truck posts rose 4.2%. The national average van load-to-truck ratio was 5.6, down from 6.3 in September, meaning there were 5.6 available loads for every available van on the network. The van ratio was 4.3 in October 2020 as the economy recovered from COVID-related lockdowns, and 1.7 in October 2019.
• The reefer load-to-truck ratio declined from 13.5 to 12.0 as harvest activity winds down. The flatbed ratio was 48.6, nearly unchanged from September.
Fuel surcharges spiked
• Contract rates increased for all three equipment types. The national average contract van rate was $2.90 per mile, up 7 cents month over month, while the reefer rate increased 9 cents to $3.07 a mile. The average contract rate for flatbed freight edged up 2 cents higher to $3.33 a mile.
• At 39 cents a mile for van freight, the national average surcharge for diesel fuel hit a new record and was up 20 cents year over year. The national average price of on-highway diesel was $3.61 a gallon in October, the highest monthly average since November 2014. After labor, fuel is the largest operating cost for truck fleets.
Strong freight rates were the norm for refrigerated trucks last summer and the trend in September showed continued strength. Big demand for refrigerated trucks should continue into 2022, according to the latest analysis from DAT.
Spot and contract truckload rates hit new highs in September, DAT reported, as shippers dealt with historic surges of freight, constraints on equipment and drivers and an early start to the peak holiday shipping season.
“The dog days of summer for freight did not materialize this year, DAT Chief Scientist Chris Caplice said in a news release. “Instead, the combination of strong consumer demand, new and evolving supply chain bottlenecks and early proactive shipping for the holiday season kept demand for capacity at record highs.”
Caplice said DAT expects truckload pricing to remain elevated into the first quarter of 2022 and for a market correction to occur sometime in the first or second quarter.
“This ‘correction’ will likely not be a ‘freight recession’ marked by consecutive quarters of decreased volumes and overcapacity, but a return to typical growth rates as shippers and carriers across all modes adjust to changes in consumer behavior, product distribution patterns and the effects of COVID-19 on the global economy,” Caplice said in the release.
The DAT Truckload Volume Index was 229 in September, down 1% compared to August and the highest for any September on record, according to the news release. The Index is an aggregated measure of dry van, refrigerated (“reefer”) and flatbed loads moved by truckload carriers each month. A decline of 7% to 10% is more typical from August to September.
“Businesses are shipping early and, where possible, by truck in order to make sure they have inventory, but this means using the spot market or higher-priced carriers to cover their loads,” Ken Adamo, DAT Chief of Analytics, said in the release. “If you’re accustomed to having the right truck in the right place at the right price, you can have one or two of those things but probably not all three.”
The national average rate for van freight on the DAT One load board network increased 9 cents to $2.85 per mile (including a fuel surcharge), the fifth time the van rate has set a new monthly high this year, according to the release. By comparison, the rate averaged $2.37 a mile in September 2020.
At $3.25 per mile, the national average spot reefer rate was up 10 cents compared to August and was 68 cents higher year over year. The spot flatbed rate averaged $3.09 a mile, up 1 cent month over month, according to the release.
The number of loads posted to the DAT network fell 1.5% in September, according to the release, while truck posts decreased 4.5%. The national average van load-to-truck ratio was 6.3, meaning there were 6.3 loads for every van posted to the DAT network, down from 6.5 in August. The ratio was 5.4 in September 2020.
The reefer load-to-truck ratio dropped from 14.9 in August to 13.5, in line with seasonal declines in agricultural production. The flatbed ratio, DAT reported, climbed from 44.1 to 47.9, driven by single-family home construction, an increase in oil and gas activity and recovery efforts following Hurricane Ida.
DAT reported the national average contract van rate was $2.85 per mile, up 3 cents compared to August and equal to the national average spot van rate. The contract reefer rate was $2.97 per mile, also up 3 cents month over month, while the average contract flatbed rate was unchanged at $3.30 per mile.
The national average price of on-highway diesel rose 3 cents to $3.38 a gallon, increasing for the sixth straight month. The spot and contract rates reported here include a fuel surcharge, which was 36 cents per mile for van freight in September. That’s 17 cents more than it was in September 2020.
September spot refrigerated truckload rates hit an all-time high, according to Portland, Ore.-based DAT Freight & Analytics.
“We’re seeing strong volumes across equipment types as the economy continues to recover, particularly in areas related to consumer spending,” Ken Adamo, chief of analytics at DAT, said in the release. “Spot market rates just keep climbing as companies turn to the spot market to help them manage imbalances in their supply chains.”
Spot reefer volumes fell for the third month in a row, down 1.3 percent month over month, according to DAT. However, DAT said the national average reefer load-to-truck ratio was 9.7 in September, more than five times higher than April’s record low of 1.7 loads per truck.
The DAT Truckload Volume Index, a measure of dry van, reefer and flatbed loads moved by truckload carriers, rose 6.1 percent from last month and was 13 percent higher than September 2019.
The national average spot reefer rate was $2.57 per mile, up 13 cents compared to August, and 41 cents higher year-over-year.
DAT’s outlook indicated:
- Grocery store chains are adjusting their lean-inventory strategies and have begun stockpiling for a possible surge of COVID-19 cases in the fall and winter;
- The holiday shopping season will start earlier and last longer to accommodate shifting demand from consumers;
- The accelerated inventory build-ups add yet another dimension to an already disjointed freight market, as manufacturers work to avoid the inventory failures seen in March this year;
- DAT’s September FMIC Pulse Signal report forecasts that year-over-year changes in active contract rates will continue to remain below 2019 levels through the end of the year, but average contract rates forecast to increase in the first half of 2021; and
- The amount of freight moving on the spot market in August increased by 80 percent year over year.
As more trucks become available for hauling, truck rates have experienced a small decline, according to DAT Solutions in a report.
National average spot rates for dry van, reefers, and flatbeds continue to decline, the company reported earlier this month.
Included in the report:
In a typical seasonal slump, the number of trucks on the spot truckload freight market increased 7.4 percent while the number of loads dipped 10 percent during the week ending January 19, said DAT Solutions, which operates the DAT network of load boards.
National average spot rates declined for the second straight week:
– Van: $2.01/mile, down 4 cents
– Flatbed: $2.38/mile, down 4 cents
– Reefer: $2.37/mile, down 5 cents
Reefer trends
Truck posts increased 5 percent while load posts fell 15 percent, which caused the load-to-truck ratio to drop from 6.1 to 4.9 loads per truck. It’s been more than six months since the load-to-truck ratio has been below 5 loads per truck.
Average spot rates were down on several key regional reefer lanes and major markets across the country.
– Los Angeles: $2.92/mile, down 11 cents after an 18-cent decline the previous week
– Atlanta: $2.56/mile, down 5 cents
– Lakeland, Fla.: $1.46/mile, down 9 cents
– McAllen, Texas: $2.24/mile, down 7 cents
– Philadelphia: $2.90/mile, down 5 cents
– Chicago: $2.80/mile, down 14 cents after falling 13 cents the previous week
Below are some examples of truck rates from Oxnard, CA over the past year, which charts the decline in truck.
There will be fewer tangerine and mandarin shipments from the top producing states this season…A look is taken at truck demand, rates and fuel costs…Plus, here is a glimpse at the top 10 potato shipping states.
California is expected to ship 21 million boxes of tangerines and mandarins this season, down from 23.9 million in 2016-17.
Florida is projected to have 860,000 boxes, down from 1.62 million last season, with the dramatic decrease due to the adverse affects of Hurricane Irma.
The Wonderful Co. of Los Angeles and Sun Pacific of Pasadena, CA are two of the larger shippers of the citrus.
Truck Demand and Rates
While demand for refrigerated equipment and qualified drivers has been getting a lot of attention, diesel fuel price are nearly a three-year high, adding the costs of trucking operations. According to DAT Trendlines diesel fuel nationally average $3.02 per gallon in December 2017, which was 16 percent more than in December 2016.
The Allen Lund Company of LaCanada, CA, like many other companies, have noticed the economy really taking off. The transportation firm is seeing 280,000 truck loads a year, a 17 percent increase from the previous year.
Another sign things are looking up for the U.S. economy is the increase in Class 8 truck sales. Over 300,000 Class 8 tractors were sold in 2017. When those trucks are delivered throughout the coming year, trucking capacity will be better.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported analysts are expecting long-term contract rates which shippers negotiate with carriers should increase between 5 percent and 8 percent this year.
Top 10 Fall Potato Producers for 2017
Total U.S. fall potato crop 399,840,000 cwt. Total U.S. Crop 441,310,000 cwt.
| RANK | State | Production (hundredweight) | Percent of Total
U.S. Fall Crop |
| 1 | Idaho | 131,330,000 | 32.8% |
| 2 | Washington | 99,000,000 | 24.8% |
| 3 | Wisconsin | 29,150,000 | 7.3% |
| 4 | North Dakota | 25,160,000 | 6.3% |
| 5 | Colorado | 21,530,000 | 5.4% |
| 6 | Oregon | 21,400,000 | 5.4% |
| 7 | Minnesota | 18,430,000 | 4.6% |
| 8 | Michigan | 18,000,000 | 4.5% |
| 9 | Maine | 15,040,000 | 3.8% |
| 10 | Nebraska | 9,070,000 | 2.3% |
| All others | 11,750,000 | 2.9% |
Source: USDA-NASS
2017 Minnesota Crop Production Report
Fall potato production in Minnesota was 18.4 million hundredweight (cwt.) according to the USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. That is a 9.7 percent increase over 2016. Planted acres at 46,000 was up 3,000 and harvested acres were up 3,500.
During the next couple of months Mexican asparagus will be crossing the border at someplace besides Nogales….Also, 2017 closed out the year with some record setting trucking freight rates in the U.S.
Asparagus out of the Mexico’s Caborca region in northern Sonora, Mexico will be crossing the U.S. during February and March. Volume is expected to increase 15 percent over last year. Quality is reported to be good.
“The weather in the Caborca region has been excellent and pending continued good weather, we anticipate promotable quantities in February and March in a full range of sizes,” said Katiana Valdes of Crystal Valley Foods of Miami in a news release. The company is a grower/shipper and importer. Mexican asparagus is imported as product from Peru comes to a seasonal low. The Mexcian “grass” crosses the border into the U.S. through San Luis, AZ, located just south of Yuma.
Yuma vegetables – grossing about $8700 to New York City.
Record December Freight Rates are Reported
According to a press release by DAT, a load board, freight rate and trucking trends company, the average reefer rate for December was $2.46 per mile, 3 cents higher than the November average and another all-time high. Spot truckload van rates averaged $2.11 per mile nationally, up 4 cents compared to November and the highest monthly average since DAT started tracking freight rates in 2010.
Truckload freight availability in December was cushioned by retail shipments, demand for fresh and frozen foods, and e-commerce fulfillment. Available truckload freight was 25 percent higher than in December 2016.
However, overall freight volume in December fell 3 percent compared to a strong November, according to the release. Some of the factors in that decline were inclement weather in parts of the U.S and the December 18th electronic logging device mandate. That combination of strains on equipment and drivers meant that shippers and freight brokers paid premiums for available trucks.