Van Rates Return to Spring Levels

Van rates stepped down for the sixth week in a row. That's not to say they're low. They're still about 20% higher than last year at this time, but now they've returned to April/May levels after hitting a peak in early July.

Many of the markets have looser capacity now than earlier in the summer. There’s been a slowdown in Texas, and volumes and rates are falling in Southern California, after frenzied activity a few weeks ago at the port of Los Angeles/Long Beach. Only 23 of the top 100 van lanes had rising rates last week, while 74 declined and 3 held steady. Confirming the trend, the national average van rate dipped 2¢ week over week to $2.16 per mile for the month to-date.

All rates below include fuel surcharges and are based on real transactions between brokers and carriers.

Rising Rates

Although outbound prices were down in most markets, rates did rise on a handful of regional lanes:

Seattle to Eugene, OR jumped up 13¢ to $3.10/mile
Buffalo to Allentown, PA rose 7¢ to $3.53/mile
Philadelphia to Boston also increased 7¢ to $4.14/mile

Falling Rates

As mentioned earlier, rates coming out of Los Angeles took a hit last week. Here are a few examples:

Los Angeles to Seattle fell 13¢ at $2.92/mile
Los Angeles to Denver declined 8¢ to $3.07/mile
Los Angeles to Atlanta also declined 8¢ to $1.95/mile

Rates into Buffalo, NY, also moved lower last week:

Chicago to Buffalo plunged 27¢ to a still-decent $3.16/mile
Charlotte to Buffalo fell 23¢ to $2.72/mile
Columbus to Buffalo dropped 14¢ to $3.63/mile

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This article was originally featured on DAT.com.

Pat Pitz

Pat Pitz is the editor of the DAT Solutions freight broker newsletter. He has nearly 20 years experience as a professional writer and editor. Before joining DAT, he spent 8 years at a Portland advertising and public relations agency, where he wrote newsletters and other content for a variety of high-profile clients, including several in the trucking industry.