PORTLAND, Ore.-- Truckload freight availability increased nationwide for the fourth straight week on the spot market, as indicated by traffic on TransCore’s DAT Network of load boards in the week ending February 5. The steady increase led to the highest load volume since October for a single week, according to TransCore Trendlines, the company’s trucking information web site.

TransCore reported an 8.7 percent jump in truck load posts and an 11.6 percent decrease in truck capacity in the week ending February 5, compared to the previous week. The weekly load-to-truck ratio jumped from five to six loads per available truck nationwide, a 23 percent change in this key indicator.

The corresponding ratios for dry vans, refrigerated (“reefer”) vans and flatbeds increased, as well. Dry vans, in particular, saw a 13 percent increase in freight load availability, coupled with a 14 percent decline in truck capacity on the spot market, for a 31 percent increase in the load-to-truck ratio in that key segment.

TransCore Trendlines is a free, weekly newsletter with 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 barometer. 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 U.S. TransCore Trendlines also includes industry data from the American Trucking Associations and the U.S. Department of Energy.