TransCore Freight Solutions reports that the load-to-truck ratio, typically a leading indicator of demand for truckload freight capacity, is coming back into balance as the number of available loads and trucks re-align after months of capacity constraints.

Spot market load availability declined by almost 5 percent in the week of October 10-16, compared to the previous week. Loads were off by 6 percent for refrigerated ("reefer") and dry vans, and by 3 percent for flatbeds. Conversely, spot market truck capacity expanded by 5.9 percent for the week, led by a 6.7-percent increase in dry vans.

The combination of a decline in demand and an increase in capacity drove the load-to-truck ratio down by 10 percent, from an average of 5.2 to 4.7 loads per available truck. This was the first time in two months that the ratio dipped below 5.0.

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