Capacity pressure eased during the week ending June 14 as spot truckload freight availability dipped 0.7 percent and the number of available trucks increased 12 percent, according to DAT Solutions, which operates the DAT network of load boards.
Spot market freight availability as measured by the DAT North American Freight Index has run high since July 2013 due to factors including extraordinary weather events, regulatory changes and driver shortages. May 2014 extends the trend, becoming the eleventh consecutive month to post a year-over-year record high, a 40 percent increase over last May. Month over month, however, May freight volumes declined 2.1 percent compared to April.
Spot market freight availability rose 10 percent in December 2013 compared to November, according to the DAT North American Freight Index, capping two quarters of unusually strong seasonal volume. Typically, freight levels peak in the second quarter of the year, fall in Q3, and remain low through year end. This year, a high plateau remained through most of the second half of 2013, according to the company.
After a summer of strong, steady activity, spot market truckload freight volume showed a seasonal decline, dipping 5.3 percent in September compared to August, according to the DAT North American Freight Index.
Spot market freight volumes reported by the DAT North American Freight Index rose 0.4 percent in August compared to July. Freight typically peaks on the spot market in June, but this year the robust volumes continued through the entire summer.
Spot market freight volumes reported by the DAT North American Freight Index rose 2.2 percent in June, compared to May. The month-over-month increase fell slightly short of seasonal norms; while freight volume increased from May to June in eight of the past ten years, the average increase was 10 percent.
The DAT North American Freight Index showed a return to post-recession freight volumes during the month of February, following a record-setting January. On a year-over-year basis, freight availability declined 2.5%. Month-over-month spot freight declined 14% when compared to January's unusually high freight volumes.
Reaching the highest-ever volume for the month of January, the DAT North American Freight Index increased 42 percent compared to January 2012. Freight volume was unusually robust for the season, exceeding December levels by 24 percent, and marks the first time since the Freight Index began when freight availability increased from December. Over the past 10 years, there has been a 13-percent average decline in freight levels between those two months.