TransCore’s North American Freight index rose 5 percent in January compared with January 2011.
Month-over-month, January’s spot market freight volume slipped 8 percent from December. The month-over-month seasonal decline is consistent with historic trends but less than the prior 10-year average decline of 14 percent, TransCore said.
TransCore’s monthly North American Freight Index reflects spot market freight availability on the company’s network of load boards in the United States and Canada.
Compared with a year earlier, truckload freight rates in January increased 7.3 percent on the spot market for dry vans and 4.5 percent for flatbeds, while declining 0.7 percent for refrigerated vans, TransCore said. The year-over-year rate increase in January continues the trend that occurred throughout last year, when spot market rates rose 7.4 percent overall compared with 2010.
Dry van rates in January slipped 1.5 percent from December. Flatbed rates declined 2.4 percent and reefer rates dropped 6.5 percent month-over-month. These rates do not include fuel surcharges. Spot market rates are paid by brokers and third-party logistics firms to the carrier.