Market Conditions 8/27/2017-9/2/2017

Load to truck ratios and demand moved higher this week for van, reefer, and flatbed equipment. Load availability increased by 5.5% and truck availability decreased by 4%. When taking all averages, reefer rates remained increased by 2.5, van rates increased by 3%, and flatbed rates increased by 1.5%. Taking an average of rate points from various metrics, we have found the national average rates to be the following: Reefer: $2.15/mi, Van: $1.85/mi, Flatbed: $2.20/mi.

Hurricane Harvey's destruction to Texas has seen a great amount of disaster relief. With that relief there has been a high demand for equipment to assist in the response and cleanup in the wake of the hurricane. This has caused demand and rate spikes throughout the United States. As seen below, densities from region to region have all increased in the last week.

Refrigerated Freight

Nationally, reefer load-to-truck ratios jumped significantly this week. Produce shipments in the in the north remained tough to move for shippers. Rates increased even further in the Midwestern and North East states. Spot rates continue their slump in the South, Southeast, and the Southwest. The heaviest volumes this week were in the Plains states, Midwest, and the Northeast. California's produce shipment volumes remain light for the time being. We anticipate produce volumes to continue to remain elevated in the upcoming weeks in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. The market regions with the highest load to truck densities include New Jersey, Delaware, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Arkansas.

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-DAT Power Load to Truck Reefer Densities 9/2/17

The rates below are average direct from customer rates. The bold line is the origin, left column is the destination. The following two columns are weekly ranges from the previous week. The next two columns are this week's ranges and the final column on the right is the percent changes from last week to this week.

-United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Market News https://www.marketnews.usda.gov 9/2/17

Dry Freight

For vans, load availability increased by 5% compared to the previous week. Rates still remain strong for the month of August. Truck postings decreased by 3.5%. The van market had the highest load to truck densities in the Mississippi River valley, Midwest, and the entire East Coast. These areas of higher densities also offer the highest outbound rates.

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-DAT Power Load to Truck Van Densities 9/2/17

Flatbed Densities

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-DAT Power Load to Truck Flatbed Densities 9/2/17

Diesel Pricing

Diesel prices decreased 0.9 cents this week, bringing the national average price to $2.605 per gallon. This marks a 19.6 cent increase from the same week last year.