DAT sees tightening in capacity driving load posts gains in lead-up to end of first half of 2024

At the mid-point of 2024, for the week of June 23 through June 29, the last week before the end of the second quarter and in advance of the July 4 holiday, a tightening of spot truckload capacity translated into an 8.4% gain in load posts for the DAT One load board marketplace, according to data provided to LM by DAT Freight & Analytics.  

DAT explained that the total number of trucks on DAT One decreased by 3.4% to 320,880 last week, the fourth straight week of declines. The number of loads was virtually unchanged year over year, while truck posts fell 16%, leading to higher spot rates across all three equipment types.
The weekly breakdown for van loads, van equipment, load-to-truck ration and linehaul rates for Dry Vans, Reefers (refrigerated), and flatbeds provided by DAT is below.

Dry Vans: Van loads: 1,208,382, up 13.0% week over week. 3% higher year over year; Van equipment: 213,596, down 2.6%; Load-to-truck ratio: 5.7, up from 4.9; and Linehaul rate: $1.70 net fuel, up 1 cent week over week. 
Reefers: Reefer loads: 532,018, up 7.1% week over week. 7% lower year over year; Reefer equipment: 60,857, down 7.0%; Load-to-truck ratio: 8.7, up from 7.6; and Linehaul rate: $2.03 net fuel, up 3 cents
Flatbeds: Flatbed loads: 637,232, up 1.5% week over week. Unchanged year over year; Flatbed equipment: 46,427, down 1.7%; Load-to-truck ratio: 13.7, up from 13.3; and Linehaul rate: $2.08 net fuel, up 2 cents

Dry van load-post volume typically increases during the last week of June, coinciding with the end of the quarter and the last full shipping week before the July 4 holiday,” said DAT Principal Analyst Dean Croke. “Volumes were 3% higher than Week 26 last year, and the van load-to-truck ratio was the third-highest reading in eight years. Only 2018 and 2021 recorded higher LTR for the week before Independence Day.”

At $1.70 a mile, the national average dry van linehaul rate was the highest since the Polar Vortex event in mid-January, according to Croke, adding that the rate averaged $2.06 a mile on DAT’s Top 50 van lanes based on the volume of loads moved, up $0.03 week-over-week and $0.36 cents higher than the national average.

On the reefer side, he explained that while reefer load posts increased by 7% last week, they were still 7% lower than last year due to softer produce volumes.

Truckload produce volumes typically increase by 8%-to-10% week-over-week in the lead-up to July 4, but last week's volumes were down 4%,” said Croke. “California, which produces around a third of truckload produce volumes, was down 6% week over week.”

Earlier this month, DAT issued the May edition of its Truckload Volume Index (TVI). The DAT Truckload Volume Index reflects the change in the number of loads with a pickup date during that month, with the actual index number normalized each month to accommodate any new data sources without distortion, with a baseline of 100 equal to the number of loads moved in January 2015. It measures dry van, refrigerated (reefer), and flatbed trucks moved by truckload carriers.

Key findings from the TVI included: the van TVI, at 289, up 4% compared to April and up 13% annually, hitting a new all-time high; the refrigerated TVI, at 224, up 4% compared to April and up 25% annually, also hitting a new all-time high; and the flatbed TVI, at 301, down 2% compared to April, snapping a five-month stretch of growth.