Capacity at the end of August was tight, and DAT principal analyst Dean Croke said carriers are telling him additional trucks won't be added until COVID-19 is better controlled.
With 2020’s tumultuous ride on the spot market showing little signs of slowing, shippers and carriers increasingly are leaning on short-term freight contract agreements as a bridge to calmer days and a return to the usual longer-term pacts.
The severity of COVID-19 outbreaks and how consumers respond will tell supply chain managers a lot about what to expect during the balance of the year.
The severity of COVID-19 outbreaks and how consumers respond will tell supply chain managers a lot about what to expect during the balance of the year.
With major weather events like hurricanes, freight movements tend to follow a common pattern. But within that pattern, circumstances and freight flows change quickly.
With freight markets already dislocated as a result of COVID-19, how would a hurricane affect supply chains further?
National average spot rates for van and refrigerated freight closed last week at their highest points in nearly two years, and the van load-to-truck ratio was above 5 for the third straight week, unprecedented for the month of August
Union Pacific Railroad will raise surcharges on excess contract cargo to $3,500 per container for small shippers, and raise spot market rates another $1,500 out of Los Angeles effective Aug. 23.
Dry van spot rates rose 12.2% between June and July, according to DAT Solutions. The rates were up 10.3% in July, from the same month in 2019.
Spot truckload rates out of California as of July 31 were up $1.00 to $1.40 per mile from the low point in April, according to DAT Solutions and a JOC.com analysis of rate data provided by digital broker Loadsmart.