Load-to-truck ratios significantly contribute to higher carrier costs and often play a role in limited capacity in major markets.

With freight markets loosening up in the Florida, Georgia and Arizona regions, these are early signs of the produce season slowly coming to an end. Truckload capacity has become much easier to come by in these regions, with load-to-truck ratios matching 1:1. For example, our network has experienced a produce shift from Central California up through the Pacific Northwest, as well as the South Central area of the United States.

Load-to-truck ratios are as high as 8:1 in the Little Rock and Louisiana markets. Additionally, some of the largest rate increases last week took place in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and upper New York. Per DAT Solutions, this is said to be “a strong sign for consumer goods, as these markets contain warehousing and distribution centers that tend to the highest concentration of people in the United States.”

The national van load-to-truck ratios doubled year-over-year during the produce season.

The beginning of July marked the start of the second quarter as well as the July 4th holiday, which further pushed national load-to-truck ratios to a 7 year high at 6.4 loads per truck – the highest it has been since 2010. Thus, DAT Solutions reports that van rates rose slightly in nearly 75% of the top 100 van lanes in the country.

More recently, market pressure for this week increased by 12% with both the demand in loads and supply in trucks increasing, with load demand outpacing truck supply by 14%.

Flatbed capacity remains tight throughout the United States with national load-to-truck ratios at 43:1 compared to 36:1 ratio in June.