Spot truckload rates continued their seasonal decline during the week ending July 21 as the overall number of loads posted on DAT load boards fell 5.5% and capacity increased by 1.3%.
National average rates declined for all three equipment types: the van rate fell 5 cents to $2.33/mile, the refrigerated rate dropped 5 cents to $2.70/mile, and the flatbed rate edged down 1 cent to $2.79/mile. Load-to-truck ratios also declined, a sign that historically tight truckload capacity is easing.
Van overview: Van truck posts were up 2% compared to the previous week while the number of available van loads was virtually unchanged. The national van load-to-truck ratio fell slightly to 7.1.
The sharpest drops in average outbound van rates were in the Southeast:
- Atlanta: $2.60/mile, down 20 cents
- Memphis: $2.90/mile, down 11 cents although load-to-truck ratios remained healthy
- Charlotte: $2.72, down 15 cents
Several van lanes reflected this regional trend:
- Atlanta to Charlotte: $3.15/mile, down 45 cents
- Memphis to Charlotte: $2.65/mile, down 26 cents
- Atlanta to Chicago: $2.12/mile, down 25 cents
Overall, rates moved higher on just 18 of DAT's Top 100 lanes. Seventy-six lanes were lower and six were neutral.
Flatbed overview: The national load-to-truck ratio for flatbeds fell for the sixth week in a row. Load posts were down 11% while truck posts were up 1%, which pushed the ratio down to 43 loads per truck. That’s roughly half the June average.
DAT Trendlines is generated using DAT RateView, an innovative service that provides real-time reports on prevailing spot market and contract rates, as well as historical rate and capacity trends. RateView's comprehensive database is comprised of more than $45 billion in freight bills in over 65,000 lanes. DAT load boards average 993,000 load posts per business day.
