Data from Truckstop.com and FTR Transportation Intelligence for the week ending December 12 indicate that the spot market mostly followed seasonal trends. However, broker-posted spot rates for dry van equipment were more resilient than usual.
“Total load activity declined 4.9% after the big rebound that occurred during the week after Thanksgiving. Other than the previous week, volume was the strongest since the week after International Roadcheck week in May. Loads were 20% higher than in the same week last year. Truck postings increased 1.8%, and the Market Demand Index – the ratio of loads to trucks – declined modestly after reaching its highest level since International Roadcheck in May week during the prior week,” the study says.
Key takeaways:
· Refrigerated spot rates fell sharply week-over-week, which is typical for this time of year. The decline offset most of the previous week's steep increase. However, the decrease of less than 1 cent for dry van equipment spot rates was much smaller than the long-term average drop of about 10 cents during similar weeks. Flatbed spot rate performance is much less consistent over time during similar weeks.
· The year-over-year comparison for each of the three main equipment types showed an increase of just over 4%. The current week (ending December 19) typically experiences further softening of spot rates. Still, a lack of capacity usually causes rate increases for all equipment types during the week that includes Christmas.
· The decrease in load postings, along with a slight rise in truck postings, led to a Market Demand Index of 100.5, down from the previous week but still the strongest since International Roadcheck week in May.
