TransCore’s North American Freight Index Remains Strong

PORTLAND, Ore. -- TransCore’s North American Freight Index registered a 65 percent increase in spot market freight availability in September 2010, compared to the previous year. September’s spot freight reached the highest levels for the month since 2005, which was a peak year for spot market volume. Year-over-year comparisons are expected to be progressively less dramatic in the coming months, however, as this year’s results will be compared to improving levels of freight volume seen in the second half of 2009.

On a month-over-month basis, September load volume was 4.9 percent higher than in August. Much of the incremental volume materialized in the final days of the month, as shippers rushed freight out the door before closing the third quarter. In the past six years, spot freight volume increased month-over-month three times by an average of 19 percent, and declined three times by an average of 15 percent, yielding a six-year average increase of 1.7 percent from August to September.

The increase in demand led to a slight uptick in truckload freight rates on the spot market, as measured by TransCore’s Truckload Rate Index, which is calculated using actual payments from brokers to carriers. National average line haul rates for refrigerated (“reefer”) and dry vans increased in September by $0.02 and $0.01, respectively, compared to August.

About TransCore’s North American Freight Index:

Brokers, 3PLs, carriers, and owner-operators in North America will list more than 60 million loads and trucks this year across a variety of services feeding TransCore’s DAT® Network. As a result of this high volume, TransCore’s North American Freight Index is representative of the ups and downs in spot market freight availability throughout the U.S. and Canada.

TransCore’s DAT Network sets the standard for load board services in North America by providing:

  • The most loads and trucks found on any load board on the internet or in truck stops,,
  • The highest number of exclusive loads found on a single load board
  • The best quality brokers in the industry with the highest credit scores and lowest-days-to-pay