TRANSPORTATION TRENDS: 1-30-23

Winter weather is expected to come to the south and through the Midwest this week. These conditions could possibly cause delays to LTL networks in areas not even affected by the storm. Truckload market is noticing a lower outbound tender reject index.

Winter Weather Alert:

A winter storm is said to be affecting the United States from the Texas to Ohio Valley region on Tuesday 1/31 into Wednesday 2/1. The storm is predicted to cause disruptions and delays in the transportation industry as icy conditions come into effect. Please make sure to keep monitoring the situation through local advisory and weather stations.

Truckload:

According to recent DAT statistics, the load board showed a 1.5% load to truck ratio across all equipment last week. Spot load-to-truck ratio for dry van equipment increased 6.3%, however, still showed a decrease in national rates by -1.6%. Overall, DAT is reporting that “spot rates continue their mid-winter slide.”

Experts have been monitoring activity on tender data to help monitor the truckload market volumes. This data helps to understand actual loads moving and helps alleviate the variables such as ghost loads and duplicate postings on load boards. The good news for shippers is that demand hasn’t outweighed capacity just yet – keeping it in a shipper’s market. The Outbound Tender Reject Index (OTRI) is currently in a position that shows carriers are accepting loads without being picky.

Less-Than-Truckload:

Due to the recent weather, we may see disruptions to LTL networks. Terminals that are not in the affected areas may still be affected, as we saw in 2021. The weather may delay transits and create a build up at terminals due to not being able to send freight. Carriers will be placing updates on their main website to share winter weather updates.

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.