PORTLAND, Ore., April 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The DAT North
American Freight Index climbed 47 percent in March, the first
month-over-month increase of the year as shippers ramped up freight
activity, reported DAT Solutions, which operates the industry's
largest on-demand freight exchange.
Spot truckload rates responded with only modest gains, however.
The national average spot rates for van and refrigerated ("reefer")
freight added just 1 cent to
$1.63 per mile and $1.87 per mile respectively, compared to
February, including average fuel surcharges.
"Rates rose in the last week of March, as shippers rushed
freight out to end the quarter on a high note, but that was not
enough to offset soft market conditions from early March,"
Don Thornton, Senior Vice President,
DAT explained.
Demand for trucking services in construction and energy was
particularly strong for spot flatbed freight.
Flatbed load posts rose 45 percent while truck posts increased 6
percent compared to February. That pushed the flatbed load-to-truck
(L/T) ratio up 38 percent to 36.6, meaning there were 36.6
available flatbed loads for each truck on the DAT network, which is
a 109% gain over March 2016. A
flatbed load-to-truck ratio of 18 is considered very favorable for
carriers, and the average flatbed rate gained 6 cents to $2.03
per mile.
Van load posts increased 47 percent and truck posts rose 13
percent in March compared to February, for a national average van
load-to-truck ratio of 3.2, which is below the 5.5 L/T ratio
favoring carriers. Likewise, reefer loads jumped 49 percent and
truck posts increased 14 percent for load-to-truck ratio of 6.2. A
L/T ratio of 12 is considered extremely favorable to refrigerated
carriers.
Rates continued to rise in the first week of April, however,
signaling a strong start to the second quarter.
Established in 1978, DAT operates a network of load boards
serving intermediaries and carriers across North America. For more than a decade DAT has
published its Freight Index, which is representative of the dynamic
spot market.
Reference rates are the averages, by equipment type, based on
$33 billion of actual transactions
between freight brokers and carriers, as recorded in DAT RateView.
Beginning in January 2015, the DAT
Freight Index was rebased so that 100 on the Index represents the
average monthly volume in the year 2000. Additional trends and
analysis are available at DAT Trendlines.
About DAT Solutions
DAT operates the largest spot freight marketplace in
North America. Transportation
brokers, carriers, news organizations and industry analysts rely on
DAT for market trends and data insights derived from 100 million
annual freight matches and a database of $33
billion of market transactions. Related services include a
comprehensive directory of companies with business history, credit,
safety, insurance and company reviews; broker transportation
management software; authority, fuel tax, mileage, vehicle
licensing, and registration services; and carrier
onboarding.
Founded in 1978, DAT Solutions, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary
of Roper Technologies (NYSE: ROP), a diversified technology company
and constituent of the S&P 500, Fortune 1000 and Russell 1000
indices. www.DAT.com
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SOURCE DAT Solutions