The national average van rate lost a penny to $2.02 per mile but remained above $2 for another week, as it has for most of 2014. The average rate for refrigerated loads was unchanged at $2.31 per mile while the flatbed rate ($2.32 per mile, down 2 cents) slowed in a seasonal trend.

Regionally, Los Angeles-outbound lanes stayed hot due to port congestion and difficulty accessing rail services. For van freight, the high lane in the region was Los Angeles to Phoenix at $3.11 per mile, down 3 cents compared to the previous week. Other high-paying van lanes by region:

• Columbus to Buffalo, $3.64 per mile (up 40 cents)
• Atlanta to Orlando, $2.74 per mile (down 8 cents)
• Philadelphia to Boston, $3.68 per mile (up 6 cents)
• Dallas to Houston, $2.54 per mile (up 3 cents)

Nationally, the number of available van loads was up 5.1 percent last week while capacity added 4.5 percent. The load-to-truck ratio held firm at 3.0, meaning there were 3.0 van loads posted for every van available on DAT load boards last week.

Reefer freight availability increased 12 percent while capacity gained 4.5 percent. The resulting load-to-truck ratio was 9.8. The average rate from Sacramento jumped 13 cents to $2.73 per mile on late-season volumes. Outbound reefer rates increased 3 cents from McAllen, Texas, to $1.83 per mile.

The number of available flatbed loads fell 5.8 percent against a 4.7 percent increase in available capacity. The national average flatbed load-to-truck ration fell 10 percent to 16.8 loads per truck.

Load-to-truck ratios represent the number of loads posted for every truck available on DAT load boards. The load-to-truck ratio is a sensitive, real-time indicator of the balance between spot market demand and capacity. Changes in the ratio often signal impending changes in rates.

The national average fuel price fell 2 cents to $3.66 per gallon. Declining fuel prices tend to have a dampening effect on market rates. When fuel prices slip, the surcharge drops and the total rate may decline accordingly.

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. RateView's database is composed of more than $24bn in freight bills in more than 65,000 lanes.

Source: DAT Solutions