Spot market truckload rates climbed 3 percent from $1.62 per mile at the end of September to $1.67 per mile by the end of October, then eased 1.1 percent to $1.65 per mile by the end of November, according to the inaugural Rates Edition of the U.S. Bank and DAT Freight and Analytics quarterly freight rate report. Contract rates moved with far less volatility over the same stretch, holding at $1.99 per mile through September and October before rising to $2.01 per mile in early November and reaching $2.02 per mile by December 1.

Fuel surcharges added another layer of movement to total freight costs. Surcharges held steady at 42 cents per mile from late August through October, dipped to 40 cents per mile in early November, then jumped 7.5 percent to 43 cents per mile by December 1, an increase the report tied in part to refinery outages along the Gulf Coast and Midwest. Compared with the prior year, both spot and contract rates were less than 1 percent higher, a gain the report described as typical seasonal movement rather than a structural shift in the freight market.

The report also pointed to a narrowing gap between contract and spot rates that briefly gave shippers room to renegotiate lanes, before that gap widened again in November even as load volumes declined for both segments. Carrier capacity continued to shrink throughout the period, with more carriers exiting the market than entering it.

Source: FreightWaves - https://www.freightwaves.com/news/u-s-bank-dat-launch-quarterly-truck-freight-rates-report