Trucking is undergoing a transformation, as new technologies, e-commerce, ELDs, and economic growth reshape the supply chain landscape and add volatility to the mix. That volatility exposes motor carriers, freight brokerages, 3PLs, and shippers to more risk. That's where the first-ever Trucking Freight Futures exchange comes in. Launched in March, the exchange was created by… Read More

Spot market van trends were a mixed bag last week. The large volume of freight we saw moving from the West Coast during the previous week resulted in higher volumes in the East last week, but several West Coast cities saw sharp volume declines. Truckload capacity also tightened across much of the southern half of the country, but that was offset by the heavy competition for loads in the top half of the country, which you can see in… Read More

First the bad news: Refrigerated truckload freight took a step back last week due to weakness in Florida and some California markets. Miami volumes dropped more than 15%, and outbound loads from California were down 7%. As you can see from the Hot Market Map below, it's pretty pale for this time of year. Now the good news: Overall reefer load volumes are higher than they were at this time last year, and reefer load posts did increase… Read More

I got started early in candy logistics. After I got my MBA in transportation, I managed a fleet based in Melrose Park, IL, and negotiated rates with the suppliers at E.J. Brach. I was in my 30s at the time, and I told the guy that I’d been handling Brach's candy for 25 years. That's because my father was a candy jobber – a small, regional distributor who serviced all kinds of accounts. Dad worked with a regional pool… Read More

The first quarter was one of those "good news, bad news" stories for freight brokers. The good news was a big increase in gross margins, which rebounded to 16% from 13% in Q1 of 2018. The reason for this improvement was a sharp drop in spot market rates, which is what the brokers pay to hire a truck. When that cost of "purchased transportation" declined, the brokers got to keep more of the money that their shipper customers paid them for… Read More

When a carrier searches for a load on DAT load boards, they'll often get dozens of results, especially on popular lanes. So how can a broker make that load post stand out from the pack? Posting an attractive rate will help, but beyond that, carriers want to work with brokers they can trust. And an important gauge of that trust is the broker's credit score and days to pay, which carriers see right next to… Read More

Just when we thought spring had finally arrived, van rates cooled off again last week on the spot market. More loads moved than in any other week this year, but there are still plenty of trucks available, so load-to-truck ratios declined despite the additional volume. The national average load-to-truck ratio for vans has lingered at or below 2 loads per truck since… Read More

Reefer loads saw a sharp increase last week, but just as we saw with vans, there appeared to be enough capacity to absorb the demand. Volumes from California jumped 13% last week, while Florida and Arizona saw about a 10% increase. While several markets experienced price increases, it wasn't enough to boost the national… Read More

It's been a slow spring for fresh produce, but there are some hot spots, especially in the southernmost states. Freight volumes surged about 25% out of both Miami and Lakeland, FL, and some lanes about of Florida saw rates jump as much as 85¢ per mile. That helped boost the national average reefer rate to $2.18/mi., which is 3¢ higher than the April average. Here's what's happening in some of the top reefer… Read More

After declining for several weeks, van rates seem to have turned a corner. The national average rate for May so far is $1.82/mi., which is above the April average. Individual lane rates are also trending upward. Last week on the top 100 van lanes 53 were up, 35 were down and 12 were neutral. It's been six weeks since we've seen more rising lanes than falling. Spring has also brought increased demand: last week the… Read More