Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

newsworthy

Better weather seen easing strain on truckload spot market, consultancy says

Spot volumes in April's first week fall back, DAT said.

The red-hot truckload spot market is showing signs of cooling off as better weather has unlocked contracted capacity that had been idled during the severe winter, according to a consultancy that tracks spot market trends.

According to DAT, a Portland, Ore-based consulting firm, overall spot market volumes between March 30 and April 5 fell by 3.9 percent from the prior week. Dry van volumes fell 6.3 percent from the week before, while refrigerated, or "reefer," volumes declined 4.6 percent, DAT said yesterday. Flatbed volumes rose 3.2 percent, reflecting the seasonal pickup of construction activity.


Van and reefer rates stayed essentially the same week-over-week, while flatbed rates rose 3.9 percent, DAT said.

DAT's year-over-year figures through the end of March demonstrated the impact of inclement first-quarter weather on spot-market volumes. Shippers unable to move cargo in a timely manner with their contracted carriers were forced into the spot market to procure any capacity they could find. In all, loads rose 63 percent year-over-year. Van, flatbed and reefer loads increased by 92 percent, 99 percent, and 82 percent, respectively, over March 2013 totals, DAT said.

Not surprisingly, spot rates rose by high single-digit or low double-digit levels year-over-year, according to the consultancy. The data is based on space bought by property brokers on behalf of their shipper customers.

In a related development, consultancy FTR said its monthly "Shippers Conditions Index" for February came in at -8.8, indicating an earlier-than-normal tightening of capacity due to winter storms during the month. Any reading below zero reflects an unfavorable environment for shippers.

In a statement, Bloomington, Ind.-based FTR said the climate for shippers should improve if freight growth slows. However, the consultancy advised shippers to procure sufficient capacity to get them through the spring seasonal shipping peak, especially if an unexpected surge in manufacturing activity again puts strains on truck capacity. In what is shaping up to be a significant understatement, FTR said that 2014 "may be a very volatile year requiring increased shipper attention to market conditions."

The Latest

More Stories

Sean Webb of Sparck Technologies
Sparck Technologies

In Person: Sean Webb of Sparck Technologies

Sean Webb’s background is in finance, not package engineering, but he sees that as a plus—particularly when it comes to explaining the financial benefits of automated packaging to clients. Webb is currently vice president of national accounts at Sparck Technologies, a company that manufactures automated solutions that produce right-sized packaging, where he is responsible for the sales and operational teams. Prior to joining Sparck, he worked in the financial sector for PEAK6, E*Trade, and ATD, including experience as an equity trader.

Webb holds a bachelor’s degree from Michigan State and an MBA in finance from Western Michigan University.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

office workers talk at computer

Mid-market businesses stumble in rush to AI

Mid-marketorganizations are confident that adopting AI applications can deliver up to fourfold returns within 12 months, but first they have to get over obstacles like gaps in workforce readiness, data governance, and tech infrastructure, according to a study from Seattle consulting firm Avanade.

The report found that 85% of businesses are expressing concern over losing competitive ground without rapid AI adoption, and 53% of them expect to increase their budgets for gen AI projects by up to 25%. But despite that enthusiasm, nearly half are stuck at business case (48%) or proof of concept (44%) stage.

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of global supplier capacity

Suppliers report spare capacity for fourth straight month

Factory demand weakened across global economies in October, resulting in one of the highest levels of spare capacity at suppliers in over a year, according to a report from the New Jersey-based procurement and supply chain solutions provider GEP.

That result came from the company’s “GEP Global Supply Chain Volatility Index,” an indicator tracking demand conditions, shortages, transportation costs, inventories, and backlogs based on a monthly survey of 27,000 businesses. The October index number was -0.39, which was up only slightly from its level of -0.43 in September.

Keep ReadingShow less
container ship at sea

Hapag-Lloyd orders 24 new container ships

Ocean freight liner Hapag-Lloyd has ordered 24 new container ships through $4 billion in contracts with two Chinese shipyards, saying the investment will continue to modernize and decarbonize its fleet.

Half the order will include 12 vessels with a capacity of 16,800 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) to be built by Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group, and will expand the Dutch company’s capacity. The other 12 ships with a capacity of 9,200 TEU each will be made by New Times Shipbuilding Company Ltd. and will replace aging vessels. Hapag-Lloyd’s current fleet includes 287 container ships with a total transport capacity of 2.2 million TEU.

Keep ReadingShow less
high-tech warehouse illustration

Robotics Roundtable: Automation drives forward

2024 has been a bumpy ride for many parts of the material handling equipment industry. It’s not necessarily that orders have been weak; it’s just that they aren’t up to the levels seen during the heyday of the pandemic-induced warehouse expansions. One of the brighter spots has been the robotics and automation sector, which has benefited from warehouse leaders’ continuing struggles with worker shortages and increased labor costs—both of which can be addressed through the judicious application of automated systems.

As we do every year, we recently gathered experts from the robotics and automation industry to weigh in on both the challenges facing the market and the opportunities that lie ahead. Here’s what they said.

Keep ReadingShow less