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BEAVERTON, Ore. — With supply chains adjusting to Hurricane Helene-related cleanup in the Southeast and uncertainty over a strike at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, the total number of loads posted on DAT One increased 14.9% to 2.01 million week over week. That’s the highest number of available loads since Week 29 (July 7-13).

Dry Vans

▲ Van loads: 952,242, up 16.5% week over week

▼ Van equipment: 169,815, down 21.5%

▲ Linehaul rate: $1.65 net fuel, up 4 cents

▲ Load-to-truck ratio: 4.5, up from 3.8

Reefers

▲ Reefer loads: 402,839, up 16.5% week over week

▼ Reefer equipment: 63,891, down 5.6%

— Linehaul rate: $1.97 net fuel, unchanged for the third straight week

▲ Load-to-truck ratio: 6.3, up from 5.1

Flatbeds

▲ Flatbed loads: 658,647, up 11.5% week over week

▼ Flatbed equipment: 41,888, down 7.2%

▲ Linehaul rate: $2.00 net fuel, up 1 cent

▲ Load-to-truck ratio: 15.7, up from 13.1. This is the sixth consecutive week of increases

The ILA strike was short-lived but had an impact on spot load volume.

“The 20 freight markets adjacent to ports affected by the ILA strike last week saw a 5% reduction in van load posts compared to the previous week, said Dean Croke, DAT industry analyst. “There was a 7% decrease in spot van loads posted in DAT’s Elizabeth, N.J., market and a 6% decrease in Savannah, Georgia.”

Truck posts fell 16.3% to 275,594 as velocity in freight networks on the East Coast slowed dramatically due to bad weather and, to a lesser degree, the ILA strike.

Hurricane Helene’s impact on spot truckload freight was regional and considerable.

“Due to constrained capacity, the weekly average dry van linehaul rates increased by 4 cents to $1.65 a mile,” Croke said. “In DAT’s Southeast region, inbound and outbound rates increased by an average of 10 cents a mile compared to the previous week. In DAT’s Atlanta market, the average linehaul van rate was up 7 cents to $1.53 a mile despite a 3% decrease in load volume compared to the previous week. The average linehaul reefer rate in Atlanta increased by 10 cents to $2.13 a mile on a 7% decrease in volume.”

Storm cleanup led to higher demand for flatbed capacity.

According to Croke, the number of flatbed load posts was 23% higher year over year, and the weekly flatbed load-to-truck ratio was the highest in three years for Week 40. The number of flatbed load posts increased by 14% week over week in the Southeast Region and was up 68% week over week in DAT’s Tallahassee market, where Hurricane Helene made landfall. Flatbed load posts in Houston and New Orleans increased by 27% compared to the previous week.

In Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia, outbound flatbed load volumes plunged by 40% week over week. Flatbed load volumes into the same states jumped by 44%, and the average spot linehaul rate rose 7% to $2.45 a mile. Freight markets in the path of Hurricane Helene saw outbound freight volumes drop 17% week over week while spot rates increased by 8 cents to $2.29 a mile. That’s 30 cents higher than the same week last year.

Preparations for Hurricane Milton followed a familiar pattern.

With weather events like hurricanes, freight movements tend to follow a familiar pattern: