Truckload rates edged up in Q2
After a slow start to the second quarter due to broad economic weakness and the impact of heavy flooding in the
Midwest that disrupted service, truckload prices and demand
gained steam toward the end of May and into June, signaling
positive trends through the rest of the summer and early fall.
Data from TransCore, a Portland, Ore.-based load-matching network that tracks freight activity in 64 U.S.
markets comprising more than 18,000 traffic lanes, showed
an increase in “spot market” rates—non-contract rates
charged for goods that must be moved quickly—over year-earlier levels. In June and through the first week of July, the
average spot market rate for freight moving in dry vans, the
most frequently utilized trailer type, rose 3. 6 percent over
first-quarter levels to $1.43 per mile. Rates for goods moving in refrigerated vans rose 2. 4 percent to $1.72 per mile.
Both increases represent the biggest gains in the past 12
months, according to TransCore.
Perhaps more significant from a macroeconomic standpoint, rates for freight moving on flatbed trucks have
increased 16 cents a mile from year-earlier levels, an
short takes
increase of 10 percent. Flatbed rates, which usually peak in
March or April, have remained strong through mid-July.
Dry van and “reefer” pricing, by contrast, probably peaked
in June, the firm said.
Mark Montague, an industry rate analyst for TransCore,
said the resilience in flatbed rates reflects a pickup in demand
for industrial plant and construction equipment that normally moves on those trucks. Montague said it would be a
positive sign for the broader economy if flatbed pricing could
hold firm through the end of July.
TransCore expects a strong third quarter
for the truckload sector because shippers
normally use that period to spend down
what’s left of their capital budgets before
starting to plan the next year’s budgets.
Business will also be stimulated by generous depreciation allowances on capital
equipment permitted this year under federal tax laws, Montague said.
The segment is “poised to have a pretty
good third quarter,” he said.
Truckload capacity fluctuated within a
narrow range during the second quarter,
Montague said. Freight brokers, who are
engaged by shippers to build and market
loads for transport, have been able to
obtain equipment fairly easily. At the same
time, carriers and brokers are relying more
on spot rates as truckers, confronting the
specter of higher fuel prices and a slew of
government mandates likely to drive up
costs, shy away from locking themselves
into contractual arrangements for fear
their revenues will not keep pace with their
expenses.
Spot rates currently exceed contract rates
on 23 percent of the lanes that TransCore
monitors. That is roughly in line with the
ratio reported in the first quarter. ;
Damco, a provider of freight forwarding and supply chain management solutions, has released an app for all of the major mobile platforms: iPhone/iPad, Android, and Blackberry. … Intelligrated, an automated material handling solutions
provider, has opened the Intelligrated
Technology Repair Services Lab at the
company’s Cincinnati Customer Service
and Support Center. … Pilot Freight
Services, a worldwide provider of
transportation and logistics services,
has opened a station in Amsterdam,
Netherlands. This new location marks
the first company-owned station for
Pilot in Europe. … Material handling company Wynright has formed
a new Government Services Division. Wynright has been a long-time
supplier to federal government agencies such as the Department of
Defense, the Department of Justice, the U.S. Coast Guard, the
Veterans Administration, and all branches of the Armed Forces. …
Total Quality Logistics will open a Lexington, Ky., satellite office this
month. … England Logistics and Red Arrow Logistics have joined the
SmartWay Transport Partnership, a collaboration between the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and transportation industry
that provides a framework to assess the environmental and energy
efficiency of goods movement supply chains.
INTELLIGRATED
