June 2018 Spot Rates Continue to Rise

As the second quarter of the year draws to a close, spot rates are expected to stay high. Many companies will find it important to get freight moved before the second quarter ends. As such, the month of June has drawn to a close with spot rates that have actually set records for not only flatbeds, but also reefers and vans as well. The national flatbed rate went up 1 cent to a total of $2.82 per mile at the end of June. Van rates showed an increase of 1 cent and went up to $2.32 per mile. Nationally, the reefer rate finished the month of June at $2.69 per mile. 

Other industry trends that may be worth noting from the past month include the fact that spot market loads increased by a total of 2.5 percent over those seen in the month of May. This leaves spot market loads at an increase of 72 percent over those that were seen last year in June of 2017. Flatbed spot rates, van spot rates, and reefer spot rates all increased significantly in comparison to the previous year. Flatbed rates are up 31 percent from June 2017, van spot rates are up 29 percent from June 2017, and reefer spot rates are up 27 percent from June 2017. At the same time, fuel prices have increased 30 percent over the past year in comparison to June of 2017. 

When it comes to load-to-truck ratios in the month of June, the most significant increases seen over the previous month of May were seen with vans where the load-to-truck ratio rose by 44 percent. However, load-to-truck ratios also rose significantly for reefers as well. In June, the load-to-truck ratio for reefers increased by 43 percent. On the other hand, load-to-truck ratios dropped fairly significantly for flatbeds in June as opposed to May with an overall drop of 13 percent. Although load-to-truck ratios for flatbeds did drop in June, it's important to note that they went up significantly with a percentage of 100 percent over the previous year in comparison to load-to-truck ratios for flatbeds in June of 2017. 

While spot rates did rise across the board in June, they experienced a more significant rise when it comes to both flatbeds and reefers in the month of May. The increase in spot rates in May for flatbeds was a total of 7 cents in May, and the increase in spot rates in May for reefers totaled 6 cents.