SONAR Sightings for July 21: Indianapolis volume surges; Oakland port protests cause spike in local outbound rejections

The highlights from Thursday’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

The Indianapolis market has made a full recovery after a large drop in volume that continued even after the Fourth of July holiday. Outbound tender volumes increased 12% week over week with rejections rising to 8.6%, well above the national average of 7.1%. The rise in volumes along with the rise in rejection rates will begin to tighten capacity, placing upward pressure on spot market rates leaving the market in favor of the carriers.

Inbound volumes for Indianapolis are decreasing 1.1% week over week, heavily outweighed by the amount of outgoing volume, causing the market’s Headhaul Index to swing upward to a 36.1% increase week over week.

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.

Port protests make rejection rates jump

Carriers from all over California have joined in protest of the state’s independent contractor law, AB5, and the effects of the protests are already being reflected in the market. The Port of Oakland is the primary location where the demonstrations are taking place, and participants have effectively shut down the three major terminals at the port.

The port disruptions have caused local tender rejections in the San Francisco market, home to the Port of Oakland, to skyrocket since the protests began on Monday. The Local (100 miles or less) Outbound Tender Rejection Index for San Francisco has increased 260 basis points since July 18, placing the value at 6.4% overall.

Lane to watch: Indianapolis to Denver

Outbound volumes in Denver have seen a 13% increase since Monday, while rejection rates have increased by over 100 bps to 8.6%. In just over two transit days, carriers can bring in 37 cents a mile above the national average with an abundance of outbound volume to book afterward.

It is important to note that the increase in rejections in the Denver market (same as in Indianapolis) will begin to tighten capacity, resulting in upward pressure on spot rates.

Watch: Carrier update

Source: freightwaves - SONAR Sightings for July 21: Indianapolis volume surges; Oakland port protests cause spike in local outbound rejections
Editor: Corey Smith