DAT: Van spot average rate hit a record high recently, more rates trends

The national average spot van rate hit a record high of $2.46/mile during the week ending Oct. 4, and the overall number of available loads increased 5% compared to the previous week, as supply chain disruptions continued to push freight to the spot market, according to DAT Freight & Analytics, operator of DAT load board network.

Available capacity — measured in truck posts on the board — slipped 1.5% week over week, which helped send van, refrigerated and flatbed load-to-truck ratios higher. Load-to-truck ratios represent the number of loads posted for every truck posted on DAT load boards and are a real-time indicator of demand for truckload services.

DAT’s monthly average spot rates, September
Year-over-year (compared to the same month in 2019), the number of spot load posts increased 116% during the month, and truck posts declined 6.2%. Predictably, national average rates last month were unseasonably strong:

**Van: $2.38/mile
**Flatbed: $2.41/mile
**Reefer: $2.57/mile

Again, year-over-year, the van rate was up 28.9%, the flatbed rate 9.8%, and the reefer rate gained 19.1%.

Rates have continued their climb, at least in the first week of October. In addition to that record-high average van rate, flatbeds hit $2.44/mile, and reefers $2.58 during the week ending Oct. 4.

Broad regional variation here shown for outbound van rate averages for the week ending Oct. 4. | Source: DATBroad regional variation here shown for outbound van rate averages for the week ending Oct. 4. | Source: DAT

Van Trends
The average spot rate increased on 63 of DAT’s top 100 van lanes by volume compared to the previous week. Twenty-eight lanes were neutral and nine lanes saw rates decline. The number of available loads on the top 100 lanes increased 2.4% and that record national average spot van rate was 8 cents higher than the September average. The national average van load-to-truck ratio was 5.5, slightly above the 5.4 average for the month.

Los Angeles was the nation’s busiest market for outbound spot van freight and the average spot rate was $3.37 a mile, up 7 cents week over week. Containerized cargo volumes are moving through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach at record levels: total container volume at Los Angeles topped 960,000 TEU in August, an all-time high and more than double the volume moved in March. The port said there were no cancellations on its liner services in September.

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Outbound van rates increased from other key markets last week:

**Allentown, Pennsylvania, a major warehouse fulfillment market for the Northeast, jumped 19 cents to $2.92 a mile.
**Columbus, Ohio, averaged $3.19 a mile, up 8 cents.
**Memphis increased 9 cents to an average of $2.94 a mile.
**Dallas and Houston recorded modest gains week over week, up a penny to $2.17 and up 3 cents to $2.20 a mile, respectively.

Flatbed Trends
The average spot rate increased on 41 of DAT’s top 78 flatbed lanes by volume compared to the previous week; 26 lanes were neutral, and 11 lanes fell. The number of available loads on the top 78 lanes increased 2.2%.

Regionally, outbound load volumes from the Pacific Northwest are up 17% week-over-week with 18% of those loads destined for Southern California. Rates from Cleveland are now 10 cents higher over the past two weeks at $2.70 a mile. Cleveland to Roanoke, Virginia, was up 7.7% while Cleveland to Milwaukee increased 7%.

Reefer trends
The reefer rate rally has extended two months longer than usual this year. At $2.57 a mile, the national average spot reefer rate for September is 20% higher compared to September 2019 and has been above the average contract reefer rate since August.

There are signs of a plateau. The average spot rate was lower on 28 of DAT’s top 72 reefer lanes by volume compared to the previous week; 23 lanes were up and 20 were unchanged. The national average outbound rate from Los Angeles, the highest-volume market for reefer freight for the week ending Oct. 4, slipped 3 cents to $3.66 per mile. Atlanta declined 5 cents to $2.95 a mile.