DAT's line haul rates measure the seven-day weekly moving average for spot rates in dry van and reefer hauls. They often reflect the balance of supply and demand in the spot market. The rates exclude fuel surcharges and are derived from DAT’s RateView database.
Prices notched a record on Thursday but are likely to fall back to earth
In a sharp turnaround from the spring, freight railroads and trucking companies are scrambling to get workers and equipment in place to handle a surge in cargo.
Retirements, career changes, and delays at licensing bureaus and training schools are clogging up the talent pipeline.
9.0% - Increase from July to August in rates on the U.S. spot truckload market, according to DAT Solutions.
Shippers who locked in low contract truck rates in January or during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic are now having to renegotiate prices to get capacity because of the sharp turnaround in freight volumes, according to motor carriers.
Leading trucking executives and analysts say they are pleasantly surprised by the strength in freight demand coming out of the COVID-19-induced economic shutdown in early summer.
The flood of imports to Los Angeles and Long Beach this summer is squeezing truckload and LTL capacity on inland truck routes, more than doubling spot rates to Chicago, as intermodal capacity and e-commerce deadlines remain tight.
The flood of imports to Los Angeles and Long Beach this summer is squeezing truckload and LTL capacity on inland truck routes, more than doubling spot rates to Chicago, as intermodal capacity and e-commerce deadlines remain tight.
With 2020’s tumultuous ride on the spot market showing little signs of slowing, shippers and carriers increasingly are leaning on short-term freight contract agreements as a bridge to calmer days and a return to the usual longer-term pacts.