Spot market freight availability reached the highest volume in a single week since at least January 2008 led by vans and flatbeds on TransCore’s DAT Network of load boards in the week ending April 2, according to TransCore Trendlines, a weekly barometer for spot market freight trends. Overall, load volume increased by 4 percent as capacity decreased by 0.4% nationally, compared to the previous week.
The surge in flatbed demand continues as loads for this segment have increased week on week throughout the first quarter and reached record-breaking highs, exceeding figures as far back as 2008. As severe winter weather becomes a thing of the past and we inch towards warmer climates, flatbed demand increases.
Freight availability for flatbeds rose by 4.2% on the spot market as capacity fell by 4.1%, compared to the previous week. The flatbed load to truck ratio rose by 8.6 percent, week on week.
Van load posts on the spot market increased by 4.5% as trucks fell 1.4% compared to the previous week. The result was a 6.3% in the load to truck ratio for this segment. The load to truck ratio for refrigerated (“reefer”) vans rose by 3.2%, compared to the previous week.
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