Source:
DAT Freight & Analytics
What?: Freight rates for truckload shipments at the US national level on a per mile basis, based on DAT's unrivaled spot and contract data sets.
- A spot rate is the price of a transaction for a single, currently available load, via a load board. There are two main load boards, of which DAT is by far the oldest and largest, and which we estimate are responsible for arranging roughly 20% of all loads on US interstates, give or take based on market conditions.
- A contract rate is the price of the movement of a load under a contract between the shipper and a logistics provider or asset-based truckload service provider, most commonly under one-year terms, though contract terms can range from three months to multi-year dedicated arrangements.
Analysis: DAT's all-in rates broken down by trailer type, including dry van, reefer and flatbed loads, and aggregated with ACT's trailer fleet estimates, with comparisons to the prior-year month.
ACT subtracts the standard fuel surcharge based on weekly diesel prices from the Energy Information Administration, resulting in truckload rates, net fuel, which are more helpful in understanding market conditions, particularly during fuel price volatility.