SONAR Sightings for August 1: Produce season keeps San Francisco’s outbound reefer tenders elevated

Indianapolis

After making a 30% recovery through the middle of July, outbound tender volumes fell significantly in the final week of July. A 12% drop in the past 10 days, while inbound freight remained lethargic, has resulted in a 52% drop in the Headhaul Index from 40.99 to 19.04.

The steep decline in outbound volumes also caused tender rejection rates to fall 300 bps to 6.48% overall, which is just north of the national rejection average of 6.18%.

Louisville, Kentucky

Much the same is happening 115 miles south of Indy, in Louisville. Outbound tendered loads fell 12% during July. However, there are signs of life as outbound volumes have been recovering, rising 8% week-over-week (w/w).

However, capacity has loosened considerably in Louisville. Since July 21, outbound tender rejections have plummeted 509 bps from 9.78% to a lowly 4.69%.

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.

Lane to watch: San Fransisco to Phoenix

Spot market rates from the Bay Area to Phoenix have remained consistent throughout the past three months. In just over one transit day, carriers can make only 2 cents less than the national average for spot rates, and TRAC Market Dashboard has awarded this lane a confidence score of 5 — indicating that this rate is consistent.

Once the run is complete, increased outbound volume will likely not leave you standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona. In the last two weeks of July, outbound tenders for Phoenix have increased more than 20% — a 15.2% increase w/w.

Watch: Carrier update