DAT: Truck spot rates down 5.3% in September

   Spot market freight rates fell 5.3 percent in September, while load availability declined for vans and flatbeds but rose slightly for refrigerated trailers when compared to August, according to DAT. 
   Load availability declined 4.6 percent for flatbeds, but rates fell 8.1 percent compared to August. Van availability fell 1.6 percent, as rates gained 0.7 percent. The 1.1-percent rise in availability for reefers was accompanied in September by a 1.9-percent gain in rates.
   In the third quarter, volume grew 13 percent, year over year, after a 16-percent decline during the second quarter. According to DAT, these results led to “a delayed, flattened peak that extended through Q3, as severe weather earlier in the year postponed agricultural and construction seasons and related freight movements.”