TRANSPORTATION TRENDS: 1-23-23

Load boards show a decrease in spot postings and increase in truck postings last week. LTL carriers are planning for increases as the battle to fight inflation in the economy continues.

Truckload:

National spot rates continue to slide sideways as we are into the winter months. Spot load posts have decreased 11.8% while truck postings increased 4.7% on the national average. Capacity still may be tighter in specific markets, but there is reassurance that overall, there is looseness in the market.

Fuel prices dropped 10.3% from November to December in a month-to-month comparison. Fuel was still 29.5% year-over-year in December, but signs are showing a cool-off in the higher fuel prices. 

Less-Than-Truckload:

As earlier reported, Less-Than-Truckload (LTL) carriers continued with rate increase through the new year – although demand has not been as high. The carriers are passing through inflation costs and it’s expected most carriers to raise rates by 4 – 6%. Research also indicates that carriers are more inclined to reduce capacity (labor, equipment purchasing, etc) than to offer lower prices to grow market share.

LTL carriers may continually be working through service issues at a terminal level due to winter weather. This weather can affect terminals that are not directly involved in the weather. Terminals may issue the following: freight embargos, dimension/quantity restrictions, and transit delays. TLI is actively monitoring these situations and will update any affected customer with solutions.

TLI is actively monitoring situations in the industry, such as acquisitions, embargos, and other industry disruptions. If a TLI client is directly affected by any of these events, your TLI representatives will reach out to discuss what this means for your account.

TLI highly suggests that on all shipments you provide our team with the “Must Arrive by Date” (MABD) as to when you need the product delivered. This will help us select the proper transit time / equipment type at the best current freight rate.

Please contact your Translogistics team at 610-280-3210 for any further questions. 

*article written by Mitchell Kinek, Sales/Marketing Executive, Translogistics. Any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out!

The chart above depicts national average line haul rates and fuel surcharges for equipment in the past 4 months, from DAT.