Trucking spot rates

Using real-time data to navigate today’s volatile tariff landscape

The Trump administration’s tariffs – and our trading partners’ various responses to them – have sent shockwaves through global supply chains, driving volatility and spreading uncertainty for freight market participants. As tariffs reshape trade flows and impact everything from trucking capacity to ocean freight rates, supply chain professionals are grappling with a rapidly changing landscape that demands agility and data-driven decision making.

“The speed and unpredictability of recent tariff...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/using-real-time-data-to-navigate-todays-volatile-tariff-landscape

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

Spot rates break out ahead of holidays

Chart of the Week: National Truckload Index (Linehaul Only), Outbound Tender Rejection Rate – USA SONAR: NTIL.USA, OTRI.USA

Nationwide dry van spot rates minus the influence of fuel jumped 5% last week as carriers rejected contracted truckload tenders at the second-fastest pace of the year, prompting FreightWaves CEO and founder Craig Fuller to call an end to the Great Freight Recession. 

The National Truckload Index Linehaul Only (NTIL) measures the average spot rate for dry van loads moving...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/spot-rates-break-out-ahead-of-holidays

Freight market green shoots fade heading into October

Chart of the Week: National Truckload Index (Linehaul Only), Van Outbound Tender Rejection Index – USA SONAR: NTIL.USA, VOTRI.USA

Spot rates excluding the total estimated cost of fuel (NTIL) have fallen 3% since the start of August. Dry van tender rejection rates (VOTRI), which measure the percentage of loads that carriers are unable to cover for their customers, are averaging about 30 basis points lower. In other words, the market that appeared to be showing signs of tightening in the summer...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freight-market-green-shoots-fade-heading-into-october

Lackluster Labor Day gives no lift to trucking market

Chart of the Week: National Truckload Index (Linehaul Only, Outbound Tender Reject index – USA SONAR: NTIL.USA, OTRI.USA

The Labor Day holiday was not a strong catalyst of disruption to the U.S. trucking market. Both spot and rejection rates reacted minimally to what was the most volatile holiday period during the pandemic years.

National dry van spot rates declined heading into the holiday while tender rejection rates got a short-lived boost from 4.3% to 4.9% before falling back below 4.3% this...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/lackluster-labor-day-gives-no-lift-to-trucking-market

Key US lane shows soft freight market still vulnerable to shipping imbalance

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Chart of the Week: Spot and contract rate (including fuel) – Chicago to Atlanta  SONAR: Market...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/key-us-lane-shows-soft-freight-market-still-vulnerable-to-shipping-imbalance

Uber Freight thinks pendulum may start to swing soon

Mazen Danaf, an MIT-trained staff applied scientist and economist at Uber Freight, has been tracking the evolution of trucking capacity in the United States, trying to make sense of the dogged persistence of loose capacity in a challenging, depressed rates environment.

“Almost every mile driven in the spot market could be a losing mile,” Danaf said in a call with FreightWaves. “Even for large carriers who only go into the spot market 15% of the time, it doesn’t make sense except for a backhaul...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/uber-freight-thinks-pendulum-may-start-to-swing-soon

Contract rate decline puts capacity at risk

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Chart of the Week: National Truckload Index Linehaul Only, Outbound Tender Rejection Index – USA SONA...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/contract-rate-decline-puts-capacity-at-risk

Truckload capacity flips from unsustainably tight to unsustainably loose

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Chart of the Week: National Outbound Tender Reject Index – USA SONAR: OTRI.USA

For the first time...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truckload-capacity-flips-from-unsustainably-tight-to-unsustainably-loose

Knight-Swift CEO rejects push to allow truck drivers under 21

ORLANDO, Fla. — Allowing truck drivers 18-20 years old to drive interstate cargo — a plan strongly supported by the Biden administration and the American Trucking Associations and seen as a way to address a driver shortage — would be a drag on carrier economics and safety, according to Knight-Swift President and CEO David Jackson.

“The idea of bringing 18-year-old drivers in, I think is a horrific idea for a multitude of reasons,” Jackson told attendees at the Truckload Carriers Association here...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/knight-swift-ceo-rejects-push-to-allow-truck-drivers-under-21

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