Spot reefer rates are ‘in an abysmal area’, but May showed some positives

Trucking News and Briefs for June 20, 2020:

Spot market volumes for vans and reefers hit record highs in May, but rates are still low

DAT Freight & Analytics monthly demand/volume/rates reports tracking spot market activity revealed that rates rose in May due to higher volumes of van and refrigerated freight. The DAT Truckload Volume Index, an indicator of the number of loads moved in a given period, reached all-time highs in both segments.

Van reached 289 on the Index, up 4% since April
Reefer: 224 also a 4% rise
Flatbed, on the other hand, fell 2% to 301

Although the volume is high, rates (the line in the chart) are still at levels similar to those of last year.

The van TVI and reefer TVI both increased by 13% and 25%, respectively, when compared to May 20,23. The flatbed TVI dropped month-over-month, for the first since December 2023.

Ken Adamo is the Chief of Analytics at DAT. He said, “Stronger van and reefer volume is consistent with May when shippers move seasonal goods and retail products and truckload capacity becomes tighter due to Roadcheck inspection and Memorial Day holiday.”

As a result of this, capacity pressures increased, as did the flight of many small fleets and owner-operators from the anemic spots markets, whether through choice, or due to involuntary failure. DAT noted that spot rates responded. The national average van and refrigerated linehaul rates were within 2% of what they were in May 2023.

Spot van: $2.01 per mile, up 2 cents
Spot reefer: $2.41/mile up 9 cents
Spot flatbed: $2.52/mile, unchanged

The contract markets are still much more attractive in terms of rates, especially for fleets with direct customer contracts. DAT’s contract averages for April compared to May:

Contract van: $2.43 a mile, down by 2 cents
Contract reefer: $2.79/mile down 3 cents
Contract flatbed: $3.16/mile up 1 cent

According to the weekly report of Truckstop and FTR Transportation Intelligence, spot reefer prices have been declining since the end of May. However, they gained some luster in the last week.

Norman Camamile, a one-truck independent, who operates from Zionsville, Indiana with his Cherry Tree Park Transportation company, has found the reefer spot market to be extremely challenging in recent months. He has been operating with authority for about three years. He started his career during the heyday of reefer spot freight. “Of course, as everyone knows, the bottom has fallen out,” he said.

He said that it’s gotten so bad without direct customers, he has been weighing up the cost of “reefer’s trailer payment” against the revenue losses he could take by only using power. Recently, “reefer is still the winner, but only just.” “… rates are in an abysmal state.”

New report offers solutions to women truckers’ challenges

The American Transportation Research Institute released a new report this week identifying ways to increase the number women truck drivers who enter and stay in the industry. The research quantifies six key challenges faced by women truck drivers and lays out a plan of action for fleets, schools, and drivers to make trucking more attractive to women.

The Research Advisory Committee of ATRI identified this research as a priority in March 2023 to better understand the challenges that women drivers face.

The challenges identified included: trucking image, perception, completion of training schools, truck park shortages, restroom access, gender harassment, and discrimination. The research involved input from thousands truck drivers, motor carrier and truck driver training school through surveys, interviews, and focus groups to identify underlying challenges and strategies to overcome them for women drivers.

The research “gives voice to thousands of women who have found satisfying careers as truck drivers,” said Prime trucker Emily Plummer. “And encouragement to other females to consider truck driving positions.”

The study found that women are attracted to driving careers because of the income potential. It also revealed that women and men earn equal wages in trucking.

This report is a roadmap that will help the industry increase the number women drivers, said Joyce Brenny. Brenny Transportation President and CEO. “We have seen tremendous success with our female drivers and improved safety. We believe that others who use this research will also see success.”

A full copy of the report can be downloaded via this link on ATRI’s site.