Tag: rates: Page 24

Dry van, reefer improved last week in many markets

It’s typical for spot volumes to drop in the week before Easter, since that week tends to wrap up early on Good Friday. Good news is that the drop-off was slight compared to previous years.

April 19, 2017

The slight national average-rate drop in van had more to do with the mix of freight. Long-haul freight (generally lower per-mile averages) was up, while shorter runs (generally higher) were down.

Here’s a little story about a nail tech named Wendy

As in nails, as in trucking: “Don’t cave. Don’t cave on the prices, or the quality of service, because doing so only cuts your own throat in the end.”

April 19, 2017

Don’t get nailed into taking cheap freight.

Overdrive Radio

Looking into the crystal ball on ELDs/rates, and Owner-operator Reed goes to Washington

Two updates — audio of Todd Amen of ATBS’ conference call on operator income from yesterday, and one from owner-operator Scott Reed, fresh off a meeting with legislative aide to Senator Deb Fisher in Washington gone bad, only to turn out positive when Reed dropped in on other Senators from Iowa, North Dakota, Montana.

April 13, 2017

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Owner-operator analyst on 2017: ELD rate boost still looms, income to be ‘flat to up’

ATBS’ Todd Amen predicts ELD implementation will spur rate growth until about mid-2018. Rates could grow by as much as 10 percent in that time, he said. Income for owner-operators in 2016 dipped slightly from 2015. Amen said he expects owner-operator income in 2017 to be “flat to up,” he said, “but better than some expect.”

April 11, 2017

Owner-operator income should be stable in 2017, says ATBS’ Todd Amen, if not slightly up in 2017.

Spot market: Good things come to those who wait

In this week’s spot market update, owner-operator James Woods urges more owner-operators to use tactical patience/time to their negotiating advantage — and demand maps, more for dry van, reefer loads in the last week.

April 6, 2017

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Rates report: Flatbed gained big in March, reefer sank

March was a mixed bag for spot market rates, as flatbed pricing soared and reefer rates tumbled, according to monthly rates data from Truckstop.com. Van rates remained flat in the month.

April 4, 2017

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Demand edges down, but freight volumes steady in van, lagging a bit in reefer with weather

A little “bitter fruit” in the spot market update this week, notes Ken Harper of DAT. “We’re still seeing good volumes on freight, especially on the Top 100 van lanes, but unfortunately the capacity is there as well, so rates haven’t lifted.”

March 29, 2017

Van rates averaged $2.33 per mile last week from Chicago to Buffalo, but the return trip from Buffalo to Chicago still lagged at a paltry $1.33 per mile on average. If you can make it fit with your schedule, split that trip to boost your revenue. In the example here, a load from Buffalo to Pittsburgh, which paid an average of $2.82 per mile last week, paired with a load from there back to Chicago, will make for a $2.14 average for all loaded miles on the round-trip, compared to $1.83 for the there-and-back. That works out to about $625 more in revenue for 135 extra miles, not counting any deadhead.

Overdrive Radio

Rate Per Mile Masters founder Chad Boblett from MATS: How broker relationships saved him during recent downturn

Following the demand on the spot market is all well and good when times are high, but when the market shifts it’s crucial to have solid broker relationships — more from a talk with Rate Per Mile Masters owner-operator Chad Boblett. And an answer to the question: Does the autonomous trap work on trucks?

March 27, 2017

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Building broker trust to get better loads and rates

One of the most common problems with independents using a broker-based business model is “chasing rates” instead of building relationships with a handful of brokers. When loads are picked at random, “it’s almost impossible to build relationships,” said owner-operator coach Kevin Rutherford.

March 27, 2017

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Sun-up in the oil patch, and: ’14-hour rule is the real issue’

G’mornin’, drivers. One beauty of a scene from the Reader Rigs gallery, posted on Tuesday by John Reinhardt, a sunrise early-early in the oil patch in Texas “way out in nowhere,” Reinhardt wrote, north of Pecos. And: More from Gary Carlisle on the 14-hour rule/ELDs one-two punch.

March 16, 2017

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Flurry of Northeast loads boosted van demand indicators ahead of storm

On the top 100 van lanes, however, rates rose on most, but the overall trend was neutral. Spot market volumes remain strong, though, and if the winter storm leads to tighter capacity, rates should rise to follow. More reefer, van hot (and not-so-hot) markets in this week’s report.

March 15, 2017

Higher than usual load counts in the northeast led for generally greater load-to-truck ratios last week, ahead of the forecast noreaster that just tore through the region.

Cross your fingers and say, three times, ‘Spring freight season’ …

As on a teeter-totter, as on the spot freight market — what goes down must come up. Well, sort of. Spot market volumes on DAT Load Boards continued their climb last week, enough to finally put pressure on rates to rise.

March 8, 2017

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