Share this
Loadsmart First Look Weekly Market Recap: Oct 19 – Oct 25
by aaronroseman
This is a weekly series that brings the insights we use to get your shipments from A to B from our carrier sales floor to your home office.
This week Loadsmart’s Carrier Sales, Jimmy Fahey, breaks down what happened last week and what to expect this week in the freight market in less than 60 seconds.
What We Saw Last Week
- New jobless claims fell close to their lowest level last week since the pandemic began. First time flings in the week ended Oct. 17 totaled 787,000, above pre-pandemic norms but below the almost 7 million claims during a week in March when the virus prompted widespread closures.
- White House officials and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are closing in on a nearly $2 trillion dollar deal to provide another round of stimulus checks, reinstate extra weekly unemployment benefits and extend aid for small businesses, airlines, and state and local governments. This all comes as COVID-19 cases rise to their highest levels since the middle of summer and cooler weather will hamper the ability for outdoor activities. However, if the White House and House Speaker Pelosi reach an agreement, a vote would most likely have to wait until after the election
- Union Pacific doubled it’s surcharge on small shippers sending excess contract cargo out of the Seattle market from $500 to $1000 per container starting Oct. 25th. The upcharge comes three months after it began charging fees in the LA and Stockton-Oakland markets, but the surcharge has done much to lower demand as UP’s 3rd quarter volumes jumped 24% from Q2, the largest quarter over quarter increase in the company’s history
- As consumer spending shifts from services to goods and imports, retailers are stocking up earlier than usual to make sure shelves are stocked as consumers will shop earlier than previous years to avoid crowds. Ports across the country are reported record volumes to end Sept. and imports increased 15% YoY. The influx of containers at US ports has increased container availability at the ports, but supply is plunging in Asia and container prices are soaring in Asia.
- Though the industrial sector remains somewhat depressed, Broughton Capital’s Flatbed Barometer set a 2 year record for the month of September with a measurement of 65.5, which eclipsed all other Septembers since 2010, with the exception of 2018, which was only a point higher. Load density is climbing, capacity remains tight and lanes remain unbalanced. Flatbed carriers should expect operating margin improvement, as they capture strong increases in pricing and achieve strong levels of utilization.
- A cold front came thru the PNW on Friday and dumped 12 inches of snowfall in parts of WA, OR, ID, and MT with gusts between 35-50mph. Several inches of snow also blanketed parts of the Dakotas, MN, NE, IA and WI. Though the effected markets are typically backhaul markets, we can expect an imbalance coming into next week, as drivers were heading into those markets may opt to decline tenders and reposition into other markets to avoid being stuck in the storms path.
What To Expect This Week
- Volumes and rejections have moderated, while price remains still high. OTRI is sitting at 25.07%, with VOTRI at 24.59% and ROTRI at 44.25%. Spot market rates are still sitting at a national avg. of $2.43/mi, while contract is at 2.28/mi. Though Oct. has historically been a slower month in the industry, anticipate a tight week as we approach EOM.
- With speculation of increased panic buying and surges in food and grocery purchases, anticipate reefer rejections to continue to climb as we head into the winter months and PFF.
- 2020 is shaping up to be a record breaking season for hurricanes and storms. We are tracking a low-pressure system in the Caribbean looming closer to Florida and having a 60% of developing into a hurricane. If it develops, it will be named Zeta, which is the 27th named storm of the year, tying a record set in 2005. We are also tracking the effects of Hurricane Epsilon, a Cat. 1 hurricane that battered the US East Coast over the weekend bringing high winds of 85mph and large swells.
Stay Up to Date
With all the latest weekly and monthly market insights on our Youtube page. Questions about anything you saw? Email sales@loadsmart.com and let’s talk about how we can help you take advantage of real-time market conditions.
Share this
- Blog (93)
- Shipper (86)
- Market Trends (84)
- Enterprise Shipper (69)
- Carrier (66)
- News (57)
- Data Insights (51)
- Thought Leadership (44)
- SMB Shipper (38)
- Our Partners (34)
- Warehouse (30)
- Product Updates (29)
- Mode Optimization (25)
- ShipperGuide TMS (22)
- Mid-Market Shipper (18)
- Opendock (16)
- Brokerage Services (12)
- Loadsmart (12)
- Case Study (11)
- Managed Transportation (8)
- Video (8)
- FreightIntel AI (5)
- Award (4)
- Instant Execution (4)
- Asset (3)
- Food and Beverage (3)
- Freight Management (3)
- Logistics Solutions (3)
- eBook (3)
- Podcast (2)
- Paper Packaging (1)
- Retail (1)
- Transportation Management System (1)
- October 2024 (11)
- September 2024 (11)
- August 2024 (5)
- July 2024 (5)
- June 2024 (9)
- May 2024 (7)
- April 2024 (6)
- March 2024 (2)
- February 2024 (2)
- January 2024 (5)
- December 2023 (6)
- November 2023 (2)
- October 2023 (12)
- September 2023 (5)
- August 2023 (3)
- July 2023 (4)
- June 2023 (10)
- May 2023 (5)
- April 2023 (5)
- March 2023 (7)
- February 2023 (5)
- January 2023 (7)
- December 2022 (4)
- November 2022 (13)
- October 2022 (4)
- September 2022 (7)
- August 2022 (11)
- July 2022 (6)
- June 2022 (5)
- May 2022 (2)
- April 2022 (4)
- March 2022 (6)
- February 2022 (7)
- January 2022 (9)
- December 2021 (3)
- November 2021 (5)
- October 2021 (7)
- September 2021 (2)
- August 2021 (2)
- July 2021 (4)
- June 2021 (6)
- May 2021 (6)
- April 2021 (5)
- March 2021 (8)
- February 2021 (3)
- January 2021 (3)
- December 2020 (7)
- November 2020 (9)
- October 2020 (7)
- September 2020 (6)
- August 2020 (10)
- July 2020 (8)
- June 2020 (3)
- May 2020 (1)
- April 2020 (2)
- March 2020 (2)
- February 2020 (1)
- January 2020 (1)
- November 2019 (2)
- October 2019 (1)
- September 2019 (2)
- August 2019 (3)
- July 2019 (2)
- June 2019 (2)
- May 2019 (3)
- March 2019 (1)
- February 2019 (3)
- December 2018 (1)
- November 2018 (2)
- October 2018 (1)
- September 2018 (2)
- August 2018 (1)
- July 2018 (1)
- June 2018 (3)
- May 2018 (4)
- April 2018 (1)
- February 2018 (1)
- January 2018 (4)
- November 2017 (1)
- October 2017 (2)
- June 2017 (1)
- May 2017 (2)
- April 2017 (1)
- February 2017 (1)
- January 2017 (2)
- October 2016 (1)
- August 2016 (1)
- July 2016 (2)
- June 2016 (1)
- March 2016 (1)
- January 2016 (1)
- December 2015 (3)
- November 2015 (2)
- October 2015 (6)
- July 2015 (1)
- June 2015 (1)
- April 2015 (2)
- March 2015 (13)
- February 2015 (17)
- January 2015 (15)
- December 2014 (35)
- November 2014 (26)
- October 2014 (60)
- September 2014 (2)