As we discussed last week in reviewing a white paper from DAT Solutions, carriers and shippers must understand the dynamics of the spot freight market to appropriately price and plan. And the data is readily available from companies such as DAT and, as we’ll talk about here, Internet Truckstop.
In a recent presentation with ITS founder and CEO Scott Moscrip, Stifel transportation analyst John Larkin credits the “real-time data” provided by the weekly ITS Market Demand Index for providing “a window into the trucking industry that we’ve never really had before.”
“Scott and his company have really brought the industry into the modern age with some great technology,” Larkin says.
What does the data reveal? An ongoing shift in the supply chain with some long-term implications, Moscrip explains.
“We’ve entered what I would call a vicious circle: There’s more freight available – where the capacity isn’t,” he says. “What’s been interesting is that, typically, in a year of this nature where there’s so much extra freight lying around, capacity tends to leave the load boards and the spot markets because more of the freight gets hauled under contract. This year we’re seeing an incredibly unique situation where we are actually seeing capacity move to spot market because rates are higher there – so it’s almost a contract versus spot market rate battle.
“The spot market is becoming a larger fleet of capacity than it has ever been before.”
