Freight rates are weak right now, as everyone in the industry is painfully aware. But while poring over the data in DAT RateView and reading reports from many industry analysts, I found encouraging news.
Before you call on a load, you need to decide how much you're going to charge, especially if the broker hasn't posted an offer rate. This video offers advice on where to start your rate negotiation.
Although rates have dropped considerably from record levels in 2018, spot market freight volume — actual loads moved — was higher in the first half of 2019 compared to the same period last year.
This year's truckload spot market rates have fallen well short of the heights set in 2018, but it's a different story for contract freight. For the first half of 2019, contract rates were 3% higher than in 2018. Reefer rates increased the most, followed by vans and then flatbeds.
DAT Pricing Analyst Mark Montague appeared on Land Line Now/a to discuss the latest spot market trends. He explained the market conditions that led to higher rates before Memorial Day, and what we might expect heading into June.
