Tag: Atlanta: Page 3

Seasonal pattern taking hold in spot market dry van, reefer

Good news, bad news: Normal seasonal slowdowns means “we’re coming down from higher volumes of freight and rates. Compared to December 2016, the strongest month of the year, we’re sliding, but compared to last year at this time, we’re up.”

January 26, 2017

Dat Reefer Hot States Map 2017 Jan15 21 2017 01 26 08 27

Van, reefer demand and rate picture mixed the first week of the year

DAT’s Ken Harper says owner-operators might be right to be expressing optimism about their business prospects for 2017: “With the economy picking up, and economic forecasts showing growth, it should (could?) be a very good year for spot freight.”

January 12, 2017

Van Hot States Dec 31 Jan 7 2017 01 12 15 45

December shaping up to be best rate month of 2016 for dry vans

Van rates declined in 68 of the top 100 lanes last week, but December is still shaping up to be the peak month for van rates on average in 2016.

December 22, 2016

As Chicago’s outbound rates have rebounded, the lane from Chicago to Columbus is up to $2.54 per mile on average, higher than it’s been all year. Chicago to Detroit also hit a high point last week, at $2.79 per mile, but it’s tough to find good loads out of Detroit. If you have a choice, go to Columbus. The lane straight back to Chicago is averaging fairly low from a rate perspective, but a choice of hauls for the return shows good opportunity with a load to Grand Rapids, then a short haul back to Chicago to complete the triangle.

Van freight ‘unseasonably strong,’ reefer holding — rates haven’t followed up with volumes

The past couple of years have seen the Fall freight season dwindle in intensity, but it’s lasted through December and January due to e-commerce. In this weekly spot market update, intel on just what markets are benefiting dry vans and reefers.

November 4, 2016

Van overview: Van freight didn’t see a big boost in the last full week of October, but load posts started rising at the end of the week, with an extra surge on Halloween. The month as a whole was strong compared to last year, however. Rising markets include three major van markets that saw outbound rates rise at least 2 percent for the month of October: Los Angeles, Dallas, and Denver. Volumes also rose significantly in L.A., likewise in Atlanta and Chicago. But as noted above, van rates barely moved on a majority of the 100 highest-volume lanes last week. Pricing stabilized in Charlotte, after some up-and-down weeks following Hurricane Matthew.

Spot market update: Local demand indicators for three major segments in the last week

A somewhat lackluster week on the spot market saw van and reefer volume increase slightly, but rates were more or less unchanged as a national average. Flatbed volume and rates considered broadly continued to drift down, but Savannah-Charlotte was a hot round trip.

September 1, 2016

DAT FlatbedHotStatesMap-2016-Aug21-27

Spot market update — van, reefer transitional period, and a few hot markets

Midwest writ large is trending up, the Southeast down, with the exception of lanes into Louisiana. Increases were dramatic on lanes into the Shreveport market, which includes Alexandria, La. Ensler Field outside Alexandria is one of the staging areas for FEMA.

August 25, 2016

Reefer load posts took a downward turn last week, but they’re still 8 percent higher than they were in mid-July, and rates are holding up pretty well on the high-traffic lanes.

Spot market update: Seasonal reefer slump continues, van and flat show more strength

In this weekly spot market demand update, trends show the typical mid-July freight slump isn’t as bad for some truckers as it was in previous years. Flat rates are rising, van volumes holding, but reefer is showing typical seasonality.

July 28, 2016

Atlanta, Dallas and Houston are the top three markets for load posts on DAT load boards, but outbound van rates are dropping in all three places. When rates fall in so-called “head haul” markets, however, the return rates tend to rise. You don’t have to go into Denver or Seattle to enjoy a rate increase, just be aware of the trends in both directions of any round trip before you choose a load and a destination. As for the lightening demand picture in the map compared to prior weeks: “If the past is the preface to the future,” says DAT’s Ken Harper, “look for the color to come back into the Hot States maps in late August to mid-September.”

Q2 end, July 4 holiday spur spot freight volume gain

With both the end of the quarter and the last few business days before a holiday weekend, last week’s boost in rates and volume, particularly in vans and reefers, wasn’t a big surprise. Still, it was a nice lift, especially after two months of improvement.

July 7, 2016

The Sun Belt is still hot for vans, especially in the Southeast. End-of-quarter and pre-holiday freight was even stronger than expected last week in Atlanta, Charlotte and Memphis, which were the top three markets for outbound loads on the spot market. The No. 4 and 5 spots were taken by Houston and Dallas. On the West Coast, there were lots of loads available in Los Angeles, and rates rose 11 percent outbound from Stockton.

Two steps forward, one step back: Spot market van, reefer rates retreat in last week after gains

After volume and rate gains across van, reefer and flat segments the prior week, this past week has seen van loads flat for volume. More posted trucks resulted in something of a slight rates give-back. But we’re still up over the April average.

May 19, 2016

Reefer rates slipped 2 cents themselves after an 11-cent surge the previous week, so the national average is still 9 cents ahead compared to April. Outbound rates rose in Los Angeles and Fresno, signaling a seasonal shift for reefer carriers. There is also an increase in loads available at border crossings in McAllen, Texas, and Nogales, Ariz. The Nogales-Tucson area offered 18 loads per truck last week, and rates were up as well. Atlanta is still the top market for outbound reefer loads, and Houston is a strong number two. Expect a spike in volume and rates for reefers in the next few days, as grocery chains stock up on meat and fresh produce for the Memorial Day weekend.

Van, reefer rates steady but still low, reefer hot spots in the Southeast

National average rates held steady for vans and reefers last week. Spot market loads on DAT Load Boards edged down 2 percent overall in volume, but demand increased for reefers, especially in the Southeast. As noted, Miami and Atlanta are performing fairly well for reefers, depending on the destination. Furthermore, the run to Miami from Atlanta […]

April 28, 2016

Miami and Atlanta are now the top two markets for reefer loads, as produce season hits its stride in the Southeast. Rates are improving out of Florida, with sharp increases on key lanes out of Miami and Lakeland into the Northeast. California is also back on the map, with positive trends in volume and rates out of Los Angeles, Ontario and Sacramento. The Hot States map shows high load-to-truck ratios in Idaho, Arizona, and Arkansas, due to steady outbound volume and a relative shortage of reefer trucks in the major markets of those states.

Reefer, van ‘warming market’ maps for the week

Spring freight volumes are exactly hot in van and reefer, but warming. Usually this time of year, notes DAT’s Ken Harper, rates will follow. Some local markets where owner-operators can bring confidence to negotiations detailed here.

April 14, 2016

States where van owner-operators ought to feel confident in negotiations, showing some of the highest load-to-truck ratios in the last week, include Arkansas, Louisiana, Missisippi and Alabama. Three Southeast regional hubs, meanwhile, are in the top four cities for load posts on DAT load boards: Atlanta, Charlotte and Memphis. It’s also getting easier to find loads out of Chicago, so outbound rates could begin to rise.

Van spot market update: Can you guess the worst-performing lanes of the week?

“What goes up must come down,” says DAT’s Ken Harper, who notes laws of gravity as a general rule might well be applied to “to truck loads and rates on the spot market,” particularly as seen this past week.

December 17, 2015

Demand remained strong during the week in a handful of hot markets, including Spokane, Wash.; Medford, Ore.; Fargo and Sioux Falls in N.D. and S.D., respectively; Des Moines, Iowa; Rock Island, Ill.; Hutchinson, Kan; Tulsa, Okla.; Little Rock, Ark.; Memphis; and Decatur, Ala. A shortage of trucks yielded a high load-to-truck ratio that also turned the map red in Wyoming and Maine, though volume there was low, and a brief surge in New Mexico is not generating any more new volume this week.

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