Index Shows Spot Rates Continued to Exceed Contract Rates
An index that compares pricing methods for truckload freight continued to show that spot rates continued to exceed contract rates, signaling an expected favorable improvement for carriers.
The Cowen-Chainalytics Freight Indices report, distributed by Cowen analyst Jason Seidl, showed that spot rates maintained a trend that began two months earlier. The positioning of spot rates above contract rates for multiple months previously hadn’t been seen for a year, Seidl’s report said.
“Truckers are seeing some spot rate increases after a very difficult bid season,” Seidl said, noting that the spot rates were about 1.2% higher on average than contract, compared with a difference of about 2% in July.
The data compiled by the analytics firm based on freight payments “lends further credence to our view that we are off the bottom of the market and may be nearing a turning point,” the report said.
Other rate indicators, such as the Cass Truckload Line Haul Index, have shown a deterioration in freight rates on a year-over-year basis throughout 2016, following the 2015 trend that began with increases in the 7% range that evaporated to near zero when the year ended.