What Does the Spot Market Tell Us About Truck Supply??

What does the spot freight availability tells us about the market?? We'll let you decide, but here are some interesting statistics:

Source: TransCore Trendlines

1) Spot Freight Availability is on track to exceed 2008 levels for all equipment types in the fourth quarter, on a year over year basis;

2) Freight Postings rose by 9% in the last week of September, as shippers expedited before the end of the 3rd quarter;

3) Load Availability Declined by 6% in the week ending October 10th, while the load to truck ratio rose to 2.46;

Of particular interest are the highlighted areas - notice the increases in loads to trucks - in other words, there are more loads with fewer trucks. We all know what is coming when demand starts to inch toward exceeding supply!!

Van freight is up 31% and reefer freight is up 25%.


We've had many indicators that the economy is improving. If you are a shipper, you'll want to keep all the indicators and today's article in mind. The trend is that pricing is already starting to change. Companies who are smart enough to recognize this trend will be doing what they can to lock in their trusted carriers before it is too late - overpayments for shipping could be the result in playing the "spot freight" game!

For more information on TransCore Trends, visit http://www.transcoretrends.com