Truckload freight volumes slipped in February and load-to-truck ratios, which point out demand for truckload companies on the spot market, hit their lowest factors since Might 2020, stated DAT Freight & Analytics, operators of the trade’s largest on-line freight market and DAT iQ knowledge analytics service.

The pricing setting for truckload companies weakened additional, with nationwide common spot van and refrigerated (“reefer”) charges dropping to ranges not seen since September 2020.

“Truckload volumes retreated whereas the unfold between spot and contract charges expanded to the place they have been earlier than the vacations,” stated Ken Adamo, DAT chief of analytics. “February volumes and spot charges gave carriers little incentive to maneuver away from contracted freight.”

The DAT Truckload Quantity Index (TVI) for van freight was 207, down 8% in comparison with January and 5% decrease yr over yr. The reefer TVI fell to 162, 7.9% decrease month over month and down 4.7% yr over yr. The flatbed TVI was just about unchanged at 217 and was 7.9% increased yr over yr. It’s not unusual for the variety of hundreds moved to be decrease in comparison with January partly as a result of February is a shorter month.

Van charges fell to August 2020 ranges

Nationwide common spot van and reefer charges fell to two-and-a-half-year lows.

• The spot van fee was $2.24 per mile, down 14 cents in comparison with January and 63 cents lower than the typical contract van fee. The spot van fee in February was the bottom month-to-month common since August 2020 and was down 85 cents in comparison with February 2022.
• The spot reefer fee dropped 19 cents to $2.59 a mile, 57 cents lower than the typical contract fee for reefer freight. The speed was 95 cents decrease yr over yr and the bottom month-to-month common since October 2020.
• The flatbed fee fell by 6 cents to $2.70 per mile, 73 cents decrease than the typical contract fee and 51 cents much less yr over yr.

Line-haul charges, which subtract an quantity equal to a mean gas surcharge, declined to pre-holiday ranges. Van line-haul charges averaged $1.71 a mile, down 12 cents in comparison with January, whereas reefer line-haul charges averaged $2.01 a mile, down 17 cents. The flatbed line-haul fee dipped 2 cents to $2.07 a mile.

Decrease diesel costs in February pushed gas surcharges to 12-month lows, averaging 53 cents a mile for van freight, 58 cents for reefers and 63 cents for flatbeds.

Load-to-truck ratios replicate weak demand

Load-to-truck ratios replicate truckload provide and demand on the spot market and are main indicators of the route of charges.

• The nationwide common van load-to-truck ratio fell from 3.0 to 2.5, that means there have been 2.5 hundreds for each van posted to the DAT One market final month. The ratio was 13.7 in February 2022.
• The reefer ratio averaged 3.8, down from 4.9 in January and 10 factors lower than in February 2022.
• The flatbed ratio was 13.6, up from 12.5. It was 83.9 in February 2022.

In regards to the DAT Truckload Quantity Index

The DAT Truckload Quantity Index displays the change within the variety of hundreds with a pickup date throughout that month; the precise index quantity is normalized every month to accommodate any new knowledge sources with out distortion. A baseline of 100 equals the variety of hundreds moved in January 2015, as recorded in DAT RateView, a truckload pricing database and evaluation device with charges paid on a mean of three million hundreds per 30 days.

Spot truckload charges are negotiated for every load and paid to the service by a freight dealer. Nationwide common spot charges are derived from funds to carriers by freight brokers, third-party logistics suppliers and different transportation consumers for hauls of 250 miles or extra with a pickup date in the course of the month reported. DAT’s fee evaluation is predicated on $150 billion in annualized freight transactions.

About DAT Freight & Analytics

DAT Freight & Analytics operates the biggest truckload freight market in North America. Shippers, transportation brokers, carriers, information organizations and trade analysts depend on DAT for market developments and knowledge insights primarily based on greater than 400 million freight matches and a database of $150 billion in annual market transactions.

Based in 1978, DAT is an entirely owned subsidiary of Roper Applied sciences (NYSE: ROP), a diversified expertise firm and constituent of the S&P 500 and Fortune 500 indices.

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