PORTLAND, Ore.-- A 2.1 percent increase in flatbed rates nationwide brought the average line haul rate back up to December levels of $1.55 per mile, according to TransCore Truckload Trendlines, a weekly barometer for truck freight moved on the spot market. Roughly a third of the increase occurred in the past two weeks.

Rates for refrigerated (“reefer”) and dry vans softened in late January, as severe weather in some markets led to an increased use of equipment types that are not typically seen in winter. For example, increased use of reefers to protect cargo from freezing temperatures led to a 1.6 percent boost in demand for reefers leaving the Dallas area. Conversely, the Dallas market also exhibited a 4.7 percent decline in van rates, which was the week’s biggest downward trend in truckload pricing nationwide on the spot market.

A more detailed analysis of weekly truckload rate trends can be found on TransCore Trendlines.

TransCore’s truckload rate trend of the week is derived from the company’s Truckload Rate Index, based on $4 billion in actual invoices updated daily for vans, reefers and flatbeds across the U.S. and Canada. The truckload rate trend of the week is a feature of TransCore Trendlines a free, weekly subscription with key indicators from TransCore's U.S. Freight Index, based on more than 60 million loads and trucks listed annually 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.