Indicators: Spot market rates gain momentum

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Updated Jun 3, 2016

CCJ’s Indicators rounds up the latest reports on trucking business indicators on rates, freight, equipment, the economy and more.


image (26)Spot market rates in two major truckload segments climbed for the second straight month in May, according to per-mile data reported to CCJ each month by Truckstop.com, while the other major segment remained unchanged.

April was the first month since April 2015 that all three segments — reefer, dry van and flatbed — rose from the prior month. Following record setting showings in mid-2014, per-mile rates on the spot market have steadily fallen, mostly due to lower fuel prices and softer freight environment.

The charts below compare each segment’s paid rates — verified averages of per-mile rates paid by brokers to carriers — compared to posted rates, pre-negotiated rate offers posted by brokers.

Flatbed: Paid flatbed rates rose 2 cents in May from April to $2.08 a mile, coming off the heels of April’s 6-cent upswing. Compared to the same month last year, flatbed rates were down 21 cents. May’s per-mile average is a 2016 high-mark for the segment, however:

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Reefer: Paid reefer rates rose 5 cents in May, per Truckstop.com data, to $2.08 a mile — a 32-cent decline from May 2015:

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Van: Van rates went unchanged from the month prior, according to Truckstop.com. Van’s per-mile paid rate average for May was $1.85, down 34 cents from the same month in 2015:

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