Tough winter weather across the nation delivered a spot-rates increase to owner-operators and small fleets last week, with FTR Transportation Intelligence and the Truckstop load board network reporting a 3% rise overall with mixed pictures in the major dry van, flatbed and refrigerated segments.
As the U.S. economy stuttered along in 2023 toward a hoped-for “soft landing,” trucking struggled. But many economic and trucking industry analysts believe 2024 is looking up, especially in the second half of the year.
Truck tonnage dipped in December, closing out the worst 12 months for freight activity since the pandemic year of 2020, American Trucking Associations reported.
As snow piled up across the US last week, so did spot truckload shipments. That drove spot rates up in many regions, starting with the Pacific Northwest, with fewer trucks available and fewer shipments being moved, according to DAT Freight & Analytics.
Sluggish freight demand is starting to recover, ACT Research noted.
We begin 2024 with mostly good news. While December marked a softening of Canadian spot market freight volumes, in the U.S. spot market rates are rising and closing the gap with contract rates. That’s vital if we’re to see a recovery of the spot market, DAT Freight & Analytics reported.
Spot truckload rates rose in December and the gap between spot and contract van rates closed to its narrowest point since March 2022 when prices to move truckload freight were near all-time highs, said DAT Freight & Analytics, which operates the DAT One online freight marketplace and DAT iQ data analytics service.
Spot truckload rates rose in December and the gap between spot and contract van rates closed to its narrowest point since March 2022 when prices to move truckload freight were near all-time highs, said DAT Freight & Analytics, which operates the DAT One online freight marketplace and DAT iQ data analytics service.
The December edition of the DAT Truckload Volume Index (TVI), which was recently issued by DAT Freight & Analytics, highlighted what the company described as the most significant narrowing in the gap between spot and contract van rates, going back to March 2022, a period when truckload prices nearly were at their highest point ever.
DAT Freight & Analytics today introduced two new leaders for its product and security organizations.