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Operations

Spot flatbed load-to-truck ratio sets record

March 15, 2018

Flatbed load availability and rates made big gains and the flatbed load-to-truck ratio hit a new record during the week ending March 10.

Flatbed load availability and rates made big gains and the flatbed load-to-truck ratio hit a new record during the week ending March 10, said DAT Solutions, which operates the DAT network of load boards.

The number of flatbed load posts increased 10.8% while truck posts dipped 1% compared to the previous week. There were 88.5 available loads for every flatbed truck posted on DAT load boards, up 11%. It was 61.8 a month ago and below 30 in November.

Flatbed freight includes construction materials, machinery, and other heavy loads. The national average flatbed rate was $2.50/mile, 11 cents higher compared to the previous week.

Houston was the largest market in terms of outbound flatbed freight volume. The number of available loads in Houston jumped 11.4% and the average outbound rate was up 6 cents to $2.70/mile.

After two weeks of rising volumes, the number of van loads slipped 0.6% last week while truck posts increased 3.1%. The result was a mostly neutral week in terms of rates; the national average spot van rate was $2.14/mile, unchanged for the third straight week. The van load-to-truck ratio was down slightly to 6.8 loads per truck.

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Reefer load posts increased 4% while truck posts increased 5%. That caused the national load-to-truck ratio for reefers to decline from 10.6 to 10.5 loads per truck. The national average reefer rate held steady at $2.40/mile for the second week in a row. Rates are derived from DAT RateView, which provides real-time reports on prevailing spot market and contract rates, as well as historical rate and capacity trends. For the latest spot market load availability and rate information, visit dat.com/industry-trends/trendlines and join the conversation on Twitter with @LoadBoards.