LandLine: Freight market shows a glut of trucks
A record number of trucks are currently listed on the DAT One network. So what does that mean for freight and rates? We’ll have the details on that and more in today’s market update.
A record number of trucks are currently listed on the DAT One network. So what does that mean for freight and rates? We’ll have the details on that and more in today’s market update.
The ATA’s advanced Seasonally Adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, for December, came in at 115.2 (2015=100), for a 0.4% gain over November, which was off 2.5% compared to October. ATA also noted that calendar year 2022 tonnage rose 3.4%, marking the highest annual increase going back to 2018.
For November, the most recent month for which data is available, the SCI reading was 3.0, up from -3.1 and -0.3 readings in September and October, respectively.
The Federal Highway Administration is providing $29.4 million in “quick release” emergency funding to California in the wake of recent severe storms, which caused flooding and hundreds of mudslides across the state.
The December edition of the DAT Truckload Volume Index (TVI), which was recently issued by DAT Freight & Analytics, finished 2022 strongly, with various factors, including hash winter weather and a late surge of holiday goods, boosting demand for capacity, which led to the first sequential positive change, for spot truckload van and refrigerated freight rates, since January 2022.
December’s van freight TVI came in at 215, down 4% compared to November and down 3.6% annually. This reading was 5.9% higher than December 2020, as well as the second-highest December reading in record, according to DAT. And the refrigerated (reefer) TVI, at 167, was off 4.0%, from November to December, and down 1.2% annually, with the flatbed TVI off 11.8%, from November to December, and up 3.2% annually.
Good things are happening in Washington state – and one of the driving forces behind them is the Washington Trucking Associations. From one restroom access bill that became law last year to another just introduced that would expand on it and more, Sheri Call, president and CEO of the organization, joins us to discuss their continuing efforts to improve the lives of truck drivers.
Nearshoring efforts south of the border are impacting truck flows in U.S.-Mexico cross-border trades and ultimately putting more pressure on spot rates across border markets.
“There was a peak season for truckload freight; it just arrived later than usual and with many of the variables you’d expect in December, from winter storms to a rush of retail sales,” DAT’s chief analyst says.
December produced the first month-over-month positive change in spot truckload van and refrigerated freight rates since January, as severe weather and a late surge of holiday goods helped generate demand for capacity, said DAT Freight & Analytics, which operates the DAT One freight marketplace and the DAT iQ data analytics service.