FreightWaves, in partnership with Nodal Exchange and DAT, launched the world’s first financially settled Trucking Freight Futures contracts at 9 a.m. Friday, March 29. The first trade came through within 20 minutes of opening, at 9:18 a.m.
The first trade executed was on the U.S. National van lane for April 2019. The trade was executed at $1.340, according to FreightWaves Vice President of Futures Markets Tom Mallon.
The current DAT spot rate national average (DATVF.VNU) is at $1.32, so the futures trade implies that the market believes spot prices will remain stable and edge up slightly next month.
“This is a historic day,” Mallon said. “The first ever Trucking Freight Futures trade shows that there is a market and a need for this.”
Seven origin/destination lane contracts launched, along with four regional or national average contracts. Trucking Freight Futures will be settled against DAT dry van spot rates.
Origin/Destination Lanes:
Los Angeles to Seattle
Seattle to Los Angeles
Los Angeles to Dallas
Dallas to Los Angeles
Chicago to Atlanta
Atlanta to Philadelphia
Philadelphia to Chicago
Regional/National Averages:
West U.S. (Los Angeles to Seattle Van and Seattle to Los Angeles)
South U.S. (Los Angeles to Dallas and Dallas to Los Angeles)
East U.S. (Chicago to Atlanta and Atlanta to Philadelphia and Philadelphia to Chicago)
National U.S. (West U.S. and South U.S. and East U.S.)
FreightWaves Chief Market Strategist Donald Broughton compared the first Trucking Freight Futures trade to FedEx’s first day of operation.
On April 17. 1973, FedEx Founder and CEO Fred Smith and his 389 team members used 14 planes to deliver 186 packages. That number pales in comparison to the millions of packages the company handles on the average day in 2019.
“I think this is certainly a moment to celebrate, but this will be a journey that will take time to get to scale,” FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller said. “We are encouraged and excited that people have confidence in the market to trade, but ultimately this is going to be a long process.”
Disclosure: FreightWaves is a launch partner in Trucking Freight Futures.
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Jon
Was it just the one contract all day or were there more? What was the final $ count at the end of the day as well as the final contract number? As this is a public market is this data available online like other futures markets?
Bill Hood
Congratulations. This is a big day.