Freight Futures market to watch today: Philadelphia
Trucking Freight Futures markets were relatively quiet on Wednesday with four of the 11 markets unchanged, four fractionally higher and one slightly lower. The spot National contract (FUT.VNU201909) ended the day unchanged at $1.488 per mile. Fractional gains in the West regional (FUT.VWU201909) and South regional (FUT.VSU201909) contracts to $1.498 and $1.223, respectively, were offset by a 0.12% decline in the East regional contract (FUT.VEU201909) to $1.625.
Wednesday’s trading interest shifted back to the East with most of the action centered on the Philadelphia market. The spot ATL to PHI contract (FUT.VAP201909) continued to be under downward pressure and settled 0.77%, or $0.014, lower to $1.810. Conversely, the PHI to CHI contract (FUT.VPC201909) continued to move higher and closed up 0.72% to $0.984. Comparing the forward curves for the ATL to PHI lane (FWD.VAP) to that of the PHI to CHI lane (FWD.VPC) tells the story. A look at the curves over the past 30 days shows a continuation of the removal of risk premium from the ATL to PHI lane as denoted by the downward shift in the curve, whereas the curve for the PHI to CHI lane continues to shift higher due to a fundamental shift in freight flows into the area.
