The annual Roadcheck inspection blitz is taking place June 5 – 7. This is the first Roadcheck event since the implementation of the ELD mandate, and this year the inspections will focus on hours-of-service compliance. In years past, Roadcheck has led to tighter capacity and higher rates, with some truckers taking the week off and others losing driving time due to the inspections.
This year, rates are already elevated, and capacity is already tight. Last week included Memorial Day, and truck load demand outpaced capacity. Normally during a four-day shipping week, we’d expect load posts and truck posts to be down around 20%. Truck posts did drop 20%, but load posts were only down 3%, which pushed the load-to-truck ratio for vans up 20%.
The scarcity of trucks pushed van rates higher during the holiday-shortened week, as the national average van rate increased 4¢ to $2.19 per mile.
All rates below include fuel surcharges and are based on real transactions between brokers and carriers.
RISING
Van rates are the highest they’ve been since full ELD mandate enforcement began on April 1, with many of the top lanes exceeding the $3 per mile mark. Plus, strong volumes in key markets like Los Angeles, Dallas and Atlanta, could lead to a second peak in spot market rates in June, with the first peak occurring in January.
- Atlanta to Philadelphia jumped 27¢ to an average of $3.56/mile. Atlanta saw only a slight dip in volumes despite one less shipping day
- Dallas to Denver increased 23¢ to $3.04/mile
Two lanes out of Stockton also saw big increases:
- Stockton to Seattle surged 42¢ to $3.41/mile
- Stockton to Seattle increased 22¢ to $3.26/mile
FALLING
Strong inbound volumes to the Northeast kept rates down in that region.
- Buffalo to Charlotte dropped 17¢ to $2.02/mile
- Out West, Denver to Phoenix was down 13¢ to just $1.28/mile
Find loads, trucks and lane-by-lane rate information in DAT load boards, including rates from DAT RateView.
