PORTLAND, Ore.-- After two months of decline, truckload freight rates rose by 0.3 percent on the spot market in California, as recorded in TransCore’s Truckload Rate Index. The modest rebound may signal the start of a recovery for key West Coast markets. Outbound lanes from Los Angeles made significant gains, including the freight routes from Los Angeles to Atlanta (up by $0.04) and from Los Angeles to Denver (up by $0.09) over the past 15 days.

As a national average, spot market rates for vans rose by $0.04 and for flatbeds by $0.05 while rates for refrigerated (“reefer”) freight declined by $0.01 due to seasonal trends. The 8 percent increase ($0.30) in diesel fuel prices over the past two weeks has added to the upward pressure on trucking freight rates.

Spot market rates are the rates paid to carriers by freight brokers and other intermediaries. A more detailed analysis of weekly truckload rate trends can be found on TransCore Trendlines, a weekly barometer for truckload freight moved on the spot market.

TransCore Trendlines is published weekly, providing load-to-truck ratios, spot market and contract market rates, and other key indicators from TransCore's U.S. Freight Index, the standard spot freight market gauge. It is based on more than 60 million loads and trucks listed annually on the DAT Network of load boards by freight brokers, 3PLs, shippers and carriers across the United States. TransCore Trendlines also includes industry data from the American Trucking Association and the U.S. Department of Energy.