Rates dipped for all equipment types in the 7 days endingDecember 14. Let’s review what happened…
Van rates fell 2.3% in major markets and recorded thelargest drop of all the segments. These figures are national averages from TransCore’s Truckload Rate Index, and they mask some strong regional trends. Wediscuss those in our Truckload Rate Trendof the Week on the TransCore Trendlines web site. The only marketsto record increases were Denver and Dallas. If you can recall from lastweek, van rates from Denver recorded one of the largest week-over-weekdrops I’ve seen this year. But things are looking up for the Mile High City aslanes to Texas and West Coast markets are on the rise. As volume increased inDallas, the intrastate lane rate from Dallas to Laredo jumped 28% in the pastweek and gave a healthy boost to the Texas market.
Stockton and Los Angeles recorded the greatest market dipsfor van rates: down 5.3% and 2.8%, respectively. Rates increased on inboundlanes (Dallas to LA, Atlanta to LA and Denver to Stockton) to California whichcaused outbound rates to decline. Most notably, the lane from Portland toStockton suffered the largest drop in the past week. This rate decline waspredictable as demand for Christmas trees slows.
Reefer rates dropped 1.4% in the past week and are back towhere they sat a month ago, before the November surge in rates. I expect to seerates rise in the week prior to Christmas, as demand increases. Flatbed ratesdipped 0.6% nationally. Rates for this segment continue to follow seasonaltrends.
