Domestic Freight Trends: Post-Thanksgiving Rebound and December Slowdown
When it comes to domestic freight, not surprising, tender volumes rebounded after the Thanksgiving holiday, though they are still lower compared to last year. The month of December is typically the slowest month due to mid-month holidays. As we get closer to the holidays, according to Freightwaves, a notable increase in volumes before the year ends is rather unlikely.
Freightwaves SONAR data shows that Midhaul volumes, or loads traveling between 250 and 400 miles, have performed better than other volumes over the past two weeks, dropping by only 3.04%. Additionally, tender volumes from the Chicago market gained momentum, rising by 9.76%, marking the largest increase among the major U.S. freight markets. In the California region, we have seen some rates, coming in and out, beginning to tighten up.
The dry van market has continued to dip in these last two weeks and since the start of September. Per Freightwaves data, the Van Outbound Tender Volume Index is up 13% w/w due to the holiday but is down 5.92% in that two-week period.
On the reefer side, some reports indicate that capacity is “tightening.” According to Freightwaves ROTRI (refrigerated tender rejection rates), the average has been above 14% since October, compared to around 8% during the same period last year. However, as they pointed out, we saw a similar trend last year, with rejection rates rising during this time but returning to lower levels in February and March as the market stabilized. Cold weather does impact reefer market dynamics, and if this winter turns out to be particularly cold, demand for reefer capacity is expected to remain elevated.
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