Freight trends from DAT One and DAT iQ

Spot load posts fell 7% last week, down 23% over the last two weeks

The number of loads posted on the DAT One spot-freight network declined 7% week over week to 2.0 million, and has fallen 23% over the past two weeks. Truck posts were down 8.4% to 249,019.

Dry Vans

▼ Van loads: 735,980, down 0.9% week over week

▼ Van equipment: 175,255, down 9.0%

▼ Linehaul rate: $1.60 net fuel, down 2 cents

Reefers

▲ Reefer loads: 352,791, up 6.7% week over week

▼ Reefer equipment: 45,537, down 5.5%

▲ Linehaul rate: $1.89 net fuel, up 1 cent

Flatbeds

▼ Flatbed loads: 914,912, down 15.4% week over week

▼ Flatbed equipment: 28,227, down 9.0%

— Linehaul rate: $2.16 net fuel, unchanged

Market Notes from Dean Croke, DAT iQ industry analyst:

A more conventional pattern for van load posts

Following the prior week’s plunge, dry van load posts on DAT One settled into a more conventional pattern. Compared to the previous year, volumes were nearly identical and 27% higher than the long-term Week 16 average (excluding the pandemic-impacted years 2020 and 2021). On DAT’s Top 50 dry van freight lanes (ranked by the volume of loads moved), carriers were paid an average of $1.89 a mile, unchanged from the previous week and 29 cents higher than the national average.

Reefer posts rose despite muted produce activity

Despite a 5% drop in produce shipments last week, the number of reefer loads posted increased by 7%, with much of the demand spread across the western U.S. and concentrated in southern Florida—a key region for Easter and Mother’s Day produce and flowers. Miami outbound load posts increased 21% week over week, with the highest demand on lanes to Brooklyn, New York; Lakeland, Florida; Atlanta; and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Flatbed activity declined

Flatbed load post volumes were down for the third consecutive week, dropping 15% as open-deck demand continued to soften in the spot market. However, volumes remain 13% higher than last year.