SONAR Sightings for Aug. 24: Las Vegas hits a jackpot of outbound volumes

The highlights from Wednesday’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

Las Vegas

Visitor attendance may be down this year in Las Vegas, but outbound tender volumes from Sin City are hitting the jackpot.

Since last week, the Outbound Tender Volume Index in Las Vegas is up 16.5%, while inbound tender volumes remain stagnant. The increased outbound tenders have tightened the spread of outbound to inbound volumes to less than 1% — the narrowest it has been since the index began in 2018.

The 1% spread has pushed Las Vegas’ Headhaul Index to its highest value on record at minus 0.59.

Rejection rates are reacting to the changes in volume levels. A backhaul market like Las Vegas normally doesn’t see much action with rejection rates during spikes in outbound volume, but rejections are increasing as less inbound capacity is available to handle the outbound flow. The Outbound Tender Reject Index is up 120 basis points from Aug. 16 to 7.1% — well above the national average of 5.9%

Austin, Texas

Outbound volumes are also on the rise in another backhaul market: Austin, Texas. Since Aug. 17, outbound tender volumes are up 45.2%. Meanwhile, inbound volumes are down 5.8%. Inbound volumes remain well above outbound volumes, with rejection rates falling 170 bps since last week to 3.8%. So, there is still plenty of inbound capacity in Austin to take on the increase in outbound volumes.

This major rise in outbound volumes in only the past couple of weeks has pushed the Headhaul Index for Austin up 66% to one of its highest values on record of minus 13.6.

Rejection rates fell 40 bps in the past week to 3.8%, which tells us that despite more than a 5% decrease in inbound volumes, there is still plenty of capacity entering the market.

Less than 100 miles south in San Antonio, outbound volumes are up 15.5%, and inbound volumes increased 13.3% during the same time frame as Austin. The Outbound Tender Reject Index for San Antonio has seen a 70-bps rise and is now at 3.2%.

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: Los Angeles to Las Vegas

Spot market rates from LA to Vegas are currently paying $4.17 a mile — $1.53 more than the national average. Though inbound volume to Las Vegas has declined, this lane is consistent, and the increase in outbound volume from Las Vegas presents an opportunity for carriers to stay loaded and rolling. 

If a return trip presents itself, the average rate drops significantly to $2.54, but the two rates together offer a combined rate over the national average.

Source: freightwaves - SONAR Sightings for Aug. 24: Las Vegas hits a jackpot of outbound volumes
Editor: Corey Smith