SONAR Sightings for Aug. 31: New Orleans volumes surge to close out August

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

New Orleans

Inbound and outbound volumes in New Orleans are finishing strong in the final days of August after a stagnant past couple of weeks.

Since last Thursday, outbound tender volumes are up 19.7% and inbound volumes 9.8%. The disparity between the two is only 5.7%, with inbound volumes exceeding outbound freight. However, outbound freight is experiencing the greatest change, causing the Headhaul Index to spring up 76.8% to minus 4.75.

There is still ample truckload capacity in the market to handle the increase in outbound freight volumes leaving New Orleans. The Outbound Tender Reject Index took a nosedive by falling nearly 160 basis points since Monday to 6.3%.

Albany, New York

In the Northeast, outbound volumes from Albany have risen considerably to their highest levels since April. 

Since the first week of August, outbound tender volumes are up 36.8%, a 22.2% increase week over week. Meanwhile, inbound tender loads remain very volatile, rising and falling week by week but ultimately growing 20.4% since the start of the month.

The greater increase in outbound volumes in August pushed the Headhaul Index up 43% to minus 19.7 — its highest value since May, excluding a couple of summer holiday bumps. 

Inbound freight boomed in the past week for Albany, granting the capacity necessary to accept the outbound tenders. Rejection rates have ticked down in the last couple of days, dropping 70 bps to 3.3%.

San Antonio

Both inbound and outbound volumes in San Antonio came out swinging at the start of August but are trending downward in the final days of the month. 

The Outbound Tender Volume Index in San Antonio is down 31% since Aug. 9, and inbound freight volumes dropped 7.8% in this week alone. Significant decreases in both have plunged the Headhaul Index down 245% in the last 10 days to minus 27.3.

Capacity has remained consistent throughout these changes in volume levels. Rejection rates in San Antonio ticked up 60 bps this week to 3%.

Not too far up the road in Austin, Texas, outbound volume is up 28.8% in the last two weeks of August. Meanwhile, inbound freight volumes are down 11% in the same time frame. As a strong backhaul market, capacity continues to enter Austin and essentially auto-accept contracted freight headed out of the market. Rejection rates softened through the second half of August, falling 150 bps since Aug. 17 to 3.8% — well below the national average of 5.5%.

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: New Orleans to Dallas

Spot market rates from New Orleans to Dallas have remained on par with the national average for a while but have fallen by 31 cents per mile since the beginning of the month compared to the 7 cents per mile decline in the NTID.

The rejection rate declines in New Orleans continue to put downward pressure on spot rates, but getting back to a market like Dallas presents favorable opportunities for carriers. Although 11 cents less than the national average for a trip a little over 500 miles is not a bad deal, upward movement in rejection rates in Dallas will put upward pressure on rates on the return trip.

Source: freightwaves - SONAR Sightings for Aug. 31: New Orleans volumes surge to close out August
Editor: Corey Smith