TransCore’s North American Freight Index climbed 47% in August 2011 compared with the same month in 2010, marking the eighth consecutive month that spot market freight availability reached an all-time same month high.
Compared with July 2011, spot market freight volume increased 4.5% in August. The July to August increase is atypical; seasonally, freight volumes typically decline in August with the average decline at 2.9% over the past 10 years.
Despite the increase in spot market demand, truckload freight rates, excluding fuel surcharges, remained relatively stable in August on a month-over-month basis. National average rates dipped 0.8% for dry vans versus July, but increased 2.4% over August 2010. Refrigerated (reefer) van rates were down 0.6% versus July, but rose 2.6% compared with August 2010. Flatbed rates lost 1.1% from July, but increased 9.6% versus August 2010. Spot market rates are paid to the carrier by freight brokers and third-party logistics (3PL) companies.