When we declared that the freight recession was over back in January of 2017, we expected it to be a bounce-back year for the trucking industry. What we didn’t anticipate was just how much demand would explode on the spot market.
Each year we look at the top 10 markets for load posts on DAT load boards, for each equipment type, to get a bird’s-eye view of how the markets shift from one year to the next. What immediately jumps out for 2017 is just how much freight there was.
Million-Load Markets: 14 in 2017, Up From 1 in 2016
In 2016, Atlanta was the only market with more than 1 million van load posts. There were 14 markets with more than 1 million van load posts in 2017, and Atlanta became the first market ever to crack the 2 million mark.
And 2017 is closing the year even stronger than it started, with load counts as high as or higher than they’ve ever been for many markets in December.
These markets “fell” out of the top 10 from last year, but all of them had more load posts in 2017 when compared to 2016.
Van: Los Angeles load posts were up 58% from 2016, but it still went from number no. 7 in 2016 to no. 15 in 2017. Elizabeth, NJ (no. 9 in 2016) was no. 13.
Reefer: Los Angeles was 11th in reefer load posts in 2017, down from 7th the year before, though load posts were up 62%. Grand Rapids, MI went from no. 8 in 2016 to 12th in 2017.
Flatbed: Spokane, WA went from 10th in 2016 to no. 17, but flatbed load posts there were up 53%.
Trucking’s Largest On-Demand Freight Marketplace
DAT Solutions provides the biggest freight exchange in the trucking industry, with a super-database of more than 170 million loads and trucks posted annually. Contact us here for a free demo, or call us at 800.551.8847.
