The van load-to-truck ratio rose 3.5 percent to 4.8 loads per truck. Demand seems poised to rebound, says DAT, and spot market rates may have hit bottom for the season.After a chilly start to the year, freight demand and rates are starting to thaw, according to weekly data provided to Overdrive by loadboard DAT Solutions.
The number of loads posted to DAT grew 4 percent in the week ending Feb. 9, while truck availability fell 2 percent, causing load-to-truck ratios to spike. However, rates slipped slightly, despite an improving load-to-truck ratio.
National Average Load-to-Truck Ratios
*Van: 4.8, up 4%
*Flatbed: 27, up 12%
*Reefer: 5.8, down 1%
National Average Spot Rates
*Van: $1.90/mile, down 1 cent
*Flatbed: $2.33/mile, down 1 cent
*Reefer: $2.23/mile, down 2 cents
Trend to Watch: Van lanes where rates are climbing
Van volumes are firming up about a month ahead of schedule, says DAT. Posts for van loads climbed 2 percent, while truck posts fell by 2 percent last week. Rates rose in 47 of the top 100 van lanes and drifted lower on 40. That leaves 13 lanes where the rate was unchanged week over week—such a big number indicates that the market is at or near the bottom for rates this winter, DAT says.
Market to Watch: Seattle
Chinese New Year usually creates a lull in port volumes and contributes to a drop in spot van rates out of West Coast port markets. But Seattle rates spiked last week.
DAT points to the weather as bucking the trend. Seattle has had “a ridiculous amount of snow and cold temperatures in February,” the firm said in its weekly report, which has snarled traffic in the region and drove outbound rates up 5 percent last week. Seattle to Spokane, a typically weak lane, jumped 31 cents to $3.54/mile in part because hazardous travel conditions closed I-90, the busiest east-west route in the region. “Those high rates highlight what bad weather can do to an isolated market. Look for a return to normal as the snow melts,” the firm said in its report.
