Chart of the Week

Look to short-haul freight as an economic bellwether

Chart of the Week: City Outbound Tender Volume Index, Long Outbound Tender Volume Index – USA SONAR: COTVI.USA, LOTVI.USA

Demand for short-haul truckloads (under 100 miles, or COTVI) has grown over the past year, while long-haul volumes have declined significantly. This shift is largely due to long-haul trucking being supplanted by intermodal transport, as shippers use containers as rolling storage in response to rising inventory costs and full warehouses. Looking at COTVI can help us decode...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/look-to-short-haul-freight-as-an-economic-bellwether

Flatbed market benefits from tariff uncertainty

Chart of the Week: Flatbed Outbound Tender Reject Index – USA SONAR: FOTRI.USA, VOTRI.USA, ROTRI.USA

Tender rejection rates for flatbed loads (FOTRI) spiked to 40% in March, its highest level since early 2022. Van (VOTRI) and refrigerated (ROTRI) rejections also saw increases. While some of this can be attributed to seasonal patterns, the timing suggests that tariff-related uncertainty and concerns about rising costs are playing a key role in supporting this surge in demand.

It’s important to...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/flatbed-market-benefits-from-tariff-uncertainty

Surface transportation demand starting to soften

Chart of the Week: Outbound Loaded Rail Container Volume, Outbound Tender Volume Index – USA SONAR: ORAILL.USA, OTVI.USA

Requests for truckload capacity (OTVI) have averaged nearly 9% lower year over year (y/y) since mid-February, while intermodal volumes (ORAILL) have remained relatively steady, growing at a 5% rate since the start of the year. This places total transportation demand in a state of decline, regardless of seasonal influences. Should this be considered a concerning signal from an...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/surface-transportation-demand-starting-to-soften

Carriers prioritizing West Coast

Chart of the Week: Outbound Tender Reject Index – Los Angeles, Chicago SONAR: OTRI.LAX, OTRI.CHI

Truckload carriers are rejecting just over one in every 100 loads offered out of the Los Angeles area, while turning down three out of every 50 loads originating in the Chicago market. This marks a significant shift in carrier prioritization that began in the third quarter of last year. Why is this happening, and what does it mean as the industry heads into what many expect to be a much more volatile...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/carriers-prioritizing-west-coast

Resilient rejection rates illustrate truckload capacity’s decline

Chart of the Week: Outbound Tender Reject Index, Outbound Tender Volume Index – USA SONAR: OTVI.USA, OTRI.USA

Requests for truckload capacity (OTVI) are down roughly 16% from their peak levels in September of last year. However, carriers are rejecting these requests at a higher rate — national rejection rates reached 5.7% last week, compared to 4.3% in early September. This suggests that the balance between supply (capacity) and demand is the closest it has been to equilibrium in the truckload...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/resilient-rejection-rates-illustrate-truckload-capacitys-decline

Las tasas de rechazo de carga de camiones aumentan en el mercado transfronterizo más grande de los Estados Unidos-México

las-tasas-de-rechazo-de-carga-de-camiones-aumentan-en-el-mercado-transfronterizo-mas-grande-de-los-estados-unidos-mexico

Gráfico de la semana: Índice de rechazo de licitación saliente, índice de volumen de licitación saliente – Laredo SONAR: Otri.lrd, Otvi.lrd Las solicitudes de cargador de capacidad de carga de camiones se están rechazando a las tasas más altas desde la era de la pandemia en Laredo, Texas, el mayor mercado de cruces fronterizos de […]

Esta entrada Las tasas de rechazo de carga de camiones aumentan en el mercado transfronterizo más grande de los Estados Unidos-México Aparece primero en FullAvanteNe...

https://fullavantenews.com/las-tasas-de-rechazo-de-carga-de-camiones-aumentan-en-el-mercado-transfronterizo-mas-grande-de-los-estados-unidos-mexico/?lang=es

Truckload rejection rates surge in largest US-Mexico cross-border market

Chart of the Week: Outbound Tender Reject Index, Outbound Tender Volume Index – Laredo SONAR: OTRI.LRD, OTVI.LRD

Shipper requests for truckload capacity are being rejected at the highest rates since the pandemic era in Laredo, Texas — the largest U.S. border crossing market.

The Outbound Tender Reject Index (OTRI) measures the percentage of truckload capacity requests that carriers decline. Since rejecting loads is generally undesirable for carriers, rising rejection rates indicate a tightening...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truckload-rejection-rates-surge-in-largest-us-mexico-cross-border-market

Winter spot rate slide a seasonal pattern

Chart of the Week: Spot (linehaul) to contract rate spread with spot fuel base at $1.20, Van Outbound Tender Rejection Index – USA SONAR: NTIL.USA, VOTRI.USA

National truckload spot and rejection rates for dry van loads have plummeted over the past week, indicating a rapid loosening of the domestic market. This decline may lead many to question the trucking market’s recovery, but the long-term trend still suggests that 2025 will be a more volatile year.

The National Truckload Index, excluding the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/winter-spot-rate-slide-a-seasonal-pattern

Slow market tightening apparent in spot-to-contract spread

Chart of the Week: Spot (linehaul) to contract rate spread with spot fuel base at $1.20 – USA SONAR: RATES12.USA

The gap between dry van truckload contract and spot rates (excluding estimated fuel costs comparable to a standard fuel surcharge) has been steadily shrinking the past two and a half years. This near-linear trend is primarily driven by a continuous reduction in capacity paired with slow, yet remarkably consistent, demand growth — so subtle that it has been barely perceptible to market...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/slow-market-tightening-apparent-in-spot-to-contract-spread

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