Shipping and Logistics

Truck Capacity Reaching Tipping Point

June 12, 2014

Truckload capacity is tight but trucks are still available according to logistics resource DAT Solutions. The potential port strike on the West Coast, however, and the addition of agricultural shipping may push the situation to a tipping point says DAT.

Flatbed demand is high across the country except in North Dakota where it is mostly inbound with loads for the fracking industry. An increase in construction is also putting pressure on flatbed availability.

Spot prices for flatbed trucks were up an average 3.4 percent the week of June 1 – June 7 compared to the previous week and up 9.3 percent year over year. Prices per mile were highest in the Northeast at $3.73 per mile and $3.25 per mile in the Midwest. The load-to-truck ratio increased 27 percent to 50.9 loads per truck.

Intermodal shipping rose 5.8 percent year-to-date with highest growth in April and May. DAT reports, “The shift of more freight from truck to rail may be one reason why capacity is still somewhat available, even in the busy spring freight season.”

The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reports intermodal volume in the US was up 6 percent the week ending June 6 compared to the same week in 2013. Intermodal volume for the week ending June 6 was 269,823 units. Year to date, intermodal volume is up 5.8 percent from last year.

Trucking will be one of the risks associated with the steel industry which will be explored at our Steel Summit Conference in Atlanta on September 3 & 4, 2014.