Freight Futures daily curve: 1/2

Freight Futures data to watch today: December 2019/January 2020 Settlements

Happy New Year to all! The December Trucking Freight Futures contracts are now in the final settlement process and ceased trading after Tuesday’s session. The January contracts are now the new spot month contracts. This process is known as the “Spot Contract Roll.” The December contracts ended the month on a high note with the National average (FUT.VNU201912) finishing at $1.539/mile, an all-time spot contract high, driven by fundamental strength in the East region and its lanes.

With the New Year and the spot contract roll comes an interesting market dynamic. On the roll, nine of the 11 January spot contracts are significantly lower than their December predecessors, so it bears watching to see how the markets react over the coming trading sessions. The January National contract (FUT.VNU202001) opens the month at $1.415, or 8.1% lower than December, with the East regional contract (FUT.VEU202001) 3.5% lower, the West regional contract (FUT.VWU202001) 12.5% lower, and the South regional contract (FUT.VSU202001) 8% lower. In the East, the CHI to ATL contract (FUT.VCA202001) rolls in 5.75% lower at $1.962, ATL to PHL (FUT.VAP202001) lower by 6.8% at $1.664 and PHL to CHI (FUT.VPC202001) bucking the trend by being 7.3% higher at $1.078. In the West, the SEA to LAX contract (FUT.VSL202001) opens a whopping $0.298 or 24% lower than December at $0.944 while LAX to SEA (FUT.VLS202001) is 5.8% lower at $1.984. The LAX to DAL contract (FUT.VLD202001) in the West is $0.26 or 15.8% lower at $1.374 while the DAL to LAX contract (FUT.VDL202001) higher by 4.8% at $1.052.

SONAR Tickers: Tree Watchlists – December 2019 and January 2020 Settlement Prices