Tag: rates: Page 35

Van freight: Seasonal boost in volume not yet materializing

In some ways bucking typical seasonal patterns, van freight availability on the spot market is not growing as it usually does this time of year.

October 21, 2015

Van load availability has returned to reality after our prior segment update, reflecting the end-of-quarter rush. Last week, load availability dropped another 9 percent on the spot market, while truck posts on DAT Load Boards held steady. As a result, the national load-to-truck ratio fell from 1.6 to 1.4 loads per truck, down from 2 loads per truck in the last update. Harvests in Idaho are down from their fall peak, but demand in the southern part of the state remains high. Expect volume to ramp up again as Thanksgiving approaches. This Hot State Map for the week of Oct. 11-17 also shows favorable load-to-truck ratios in Oregon. This is due partly to strong seasonal demand in the Medford market area, known for its apple orchards.

Reefer market update: Rates, demand tumble nationally, with some bright spots in local markets

National average reefer rates continued to show declines last week, but outbound rates continue to trend up in key agricultural markets, including Grand Rapids, Mich.; McAllen, Texas; and Nogales, Ariz..

October 14, 2015

Demand for reefers moved commensurate with the rate decline, slipping 13 percent on the spot market last week following an end-of-quarter surge in the previous week, and truck capacity added 2 percent. That combination led to a 15 percent overall decline in the national average load-to-truck ratio, from 4.6 to 3.9 loads per truck on DAT Load Boards. Compared to Overdrive‘s last update on the segment, that’s a decline from 5.2 loads per truck, or more than 20 percent.

Rates continued to tumble in September, all three major truckload segments decline

Average per-mile rates on the spot market in all three major truckload segments fell in September from August, according to data from Truckstop.com, following up on big drops seen in August. Here are the numbers.

October 12, 2015

National van freight — end-of-quarter rush boosts volume, demand

Rate trend of the week: End-of-quarter van volume boost leads national demand surge — declining fuel surcharges, however, balance overall rate picture.

October 7, 2015

Despite local gains, spot market rates for vans dipped 1 cent last week to a national average of $1.74 per mile due to a decline in the fuel surcharge.

Overdrive Extra

Owner-operators’ decade of ‘working less and making more’

Looking at miles, revenue, income, maintenance costs and more, owner-operators worked longer but made less in recent years.

October 7, 2015

Flatbed demand, rates flat to declining nationally

Bright spots for flatbed truck demand last week could be found in the the Pacific Northwest on DAT Load Boards. South Dakota was also a hot state for flatbeds, with concentrated demand in the Rapid City market.

September 30, 2015

Demand has declined for flatbeds in Eastern and South Central regions, partly due to reductions in the steel and energy industries, respectively. The Pacific Northwest has high load-to-truck ratios, as shown in this Hot States Map for the week of September 20-26, with the heaviest demand concentrated in Western Oregon and Northern California. South Dakota was also a hot state for flatbeds, with concentrated demand in the Rapid City market.

Van demand follows reefer up Northwest, falls nationally

Van rates held steady, meanwhile, compared to our last update but were down week over week. And: A way to get back to Chicago from Denver without breaking the bank.

September 24, 2015

With the demand dip, spot market rates for vans fell 2 cents week over week to a national average of $1.75 per mile, or even with the average shown with the last update three weeks ago. Rates are still higher on average than they were in August, but most markets slipped lower last week. California was a bright spot, with outbound rates in Stockton seeing an uptick and Los Angeles prices holding steady.

Why you deserve $64/hour for (every hour of) detention

Calculating a fair detention rate: A majority of operators indicate either total revenue per mile (38 percent) or profit/net income per mile + fixed cost per mile (45 percent) as appropriate benchmarks for detention rates.

September 17, 2015

Other approaches to detention offered by readers in recent times included the notion of offering customers discounts on the line-haul rate for expedited loading/unloading.

Reefer demand surge in the Pacific Northwest, other local markets

Views on load/truck-posting activity on DAT Load Boards around the nation in the refrigerated spot market. And: hauling potatoes to L.A. out of Idaho? Reposition to Phoenix before the return to maximize revenue.

September 16, 2015

DAT-ReeferHotStatesMap-2015- Sep6-12

Detention détente: Cadle Trucking

“When capacity gets even tighter – when electronic logs become a mandate … it will be a good opportunity for us to recover costs that we’ll have to pass along to drivers to pay them to sit.” –9-truck fleet owner-operator Ben Cadle

September 15, 2015

Detention détente: Tables turn in carriers’, drivers’ favor in pay/rate negotiations

The tables finally are turning, as examined in this multipart feature. Fleets and owner-operators, for years in a losing battle with brokers and shippers over compensation for wasted dock time, are exercising improved leverage in negotiations.

September 14, 2015

Nine-truck, mostly flatbed fleet owner-operator Ben Cadle, an agent for Bennett Motor Express, guarantees detention pay for his drivers after two hours, a fact his shippers know well, helping mitigate detention problems. It can still be a problem, however, he notes, with detention pay coming into play on about half of all his loads. If the entire trucking industry demanded a change, he says, “things would get better.” Read more about how he establishes base hourly rates for wait time at this link.

Dog days of rates: Per-mile rates dive in all three major truckload segments in August

Per-mile spot market rates in the three major truckload segments continued their seasonal summer slide in August, with paid rates falling at least 6 cents from July in all three and posted rates sliding at least a dime, according to monthly rate data from Truckstop.com.

September 9, 2015

Rate data from Truckstop.com

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