SONAR Sightings for Aug. 22: Outbound volumes slump while rejections rise in Dallas

The highlights from Monday’s SONAR reports are below. For more information on SONAR — the fastest freight-forecasting platform in the industry — or to request a demo, click here. Also, be sure to check out the latest SONAR update, TRAC — the freshest spot rate data in the industry.

Market watch

Dallas

Outbound volumes from Dallas have trickled down 1.7% since the start of August; meanwhile, inbound volumes are up 4.1%. Its neighboring market, Fort Worth, Texas, experienced a dip in volume levels leaving the market last week, but overall they are at the same levels they were in the beginning of the month.

However, rejection rates in both markets began ticking up last week. Dallas saw a 90 basis point rise in rejections since this time last week to 5.1%, and Fort Worth followed suit, rising roughly 85 bps at the same time to 4.3%.

SONAR Tickers: OTVI.DAL, OTVI.FTW with “Dual” display

Indianapolis

Outbound volumes in Indianapolis are up 6.8% since the beginning of the month, while inbound volumes have increased 4.5% in the same time frame — respectable increases for this market. The increased volumes tightened capacity steadily, rising 130 bps since the start of the month to 7.3%.

The increase in rejection rates will put upward pressure on spot market rates in favor of the carriers leaving Indianapolis.

SONAR Tickers: OTRI.USA, OTRI.IND

Seattle

Outbound volumes from Seattle are falling like soft rain over the city and just hit their lowest levels since June. Since the start of the month, the Outbound Tender Volume Index is down 9.6%, and inbound volumes dropped 3.2% as well. This has created a 210% drop in Seattle’s Headhaul Index in the last 10 days. 

The significant decrease in both inbound and outbound volumes has loosened capacity, pushing rejection rates below 1% at 89 bps — Seattle’s lowest value on record.

SONAR Tickers: HAUL.SEA

NTI as a point of reference

The National Truckload Index is a daily look at how spot rates in specific lanes hold up in comparison to the national average, giving carriers and brokers an idea of which lanes to gravitate toward or avoid.

NTI Daily

Lane to watch: Atlanta to Dallas

Rejection rates out of Atlanta have reached a historic low after falling roughly 80 bps since last week to 4.5%, and spot market rates to Dallas have gone down with them. The average spot rates in this lane have fallen 16 cents since from the beginning of August to $2.28 a mile. While this rate sits 32 cents below the national average, the TRAC confidence score is 5, giving a great amount of certainty that this is what carriers are actually being offered.

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Corey Smith

Corey is a staff writer for FreightWaves with experience in air, intermodal and parcel operations, as well as LTL and full truckload transportation management. He is a graduate of the University of Memphis, majoring in supply chain management, and enjoys basketball, cinema and traveling.