U.S. freight brokers experienced a solid second quarter as load volumes surged to record highs and net operating profit jumped, according to a survey published today of 100 decent-sized brokers by spot market load board operator DAT Solutions, LLC.
In 1970s films like “Duel” and “Smokey and the Bandit”, truckers are outlaws. If that was ever close to the truth, it is now a highway’s length from it.
More companies are pointing to rising freight costs as a drag on earnings and growth, as trucking companies raise rates at a historic pace and one says finding trucks is getting ‘ugly’.
Other industries, particularly construction and energy, are attracting the sort of blue-collar workers who would normally go into truck driving, according to Mark Montague, senior industry pricing analyst at DAT Solutions. Those jobs have better pay
Spot rates rose in June due to the need for trucks but the first half of July was equally strong, said Peggy Dorf, market analyst at load board operator DAT Solutions.
June marked the 16th straight month in which prices increased on an annual basis on trucking’s spot market, where shippers book last-minute transportation. That is the longest sustained period of pricing power for truckers since the industry was de
Capacity shortfalls combined with increased demand for truckload shipments are continuing to boost spot rates to record levels, according to DAT Solutions, which also said in what is an atypical trend, spot rates now are exceeding long-term contract
Recent spot market data issued by Portland, Oregon-based freight marketplace platform and information provider DAT reinforces the current strength of the trucking sector, with June having the highest spot market rates on record.
In June the national average rate for the most common type of big rig hit $2.32 per mile on the spot market, according to online freight marketplace DAT Solutions LLC.
The Big A is the No. 1 city for spot market posts for van loads and refrigerated loads through the first half of 2018, according to DAT Solutions, the operator of a major freight load board marketplace for North America.