SONAR Sightings for July 7: Reefer volume out of San Francisco rising again in time for peak season

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

A significant amount of U.S. produce comes out of California’s Central and Salinas valleys. The areas around San Francisco are home to dozens of food processing plants, and since the beginning of spring produce season in April volumes have increased significantly — but not without periodic drops.

The first three months of this year were the driest months in California in 100 years, placing all 58 counties in the state under a drought emergency proclamation. It is factors such as these that cause the reefer market to become extremely volatile.

The Reefer Outbound Tender Volume Index for the San Francisco market had increased almost 20 points before the recent holiday dip from the Fourth of July, and is currently on an upward trajectory — valued at 25.1. 

As the volumes begin to pick back up, the Reefer Outbound Tender Rejection Index for San Francisco climbed almost 260 basis points since Tuesday.

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.

Watch: Carrier update

Reefer lane to watch: San Fransisco to Dallas

Using data from SONAR’s USDA Truckload Spot Rate, we are able to view a weekly average of all-in rates for lanes based on a USDA survey of produce shippers. It is also important to note that this data comes from contracted freight that is now being moved to the spot market.

After taking a steep dive throughout the beginning of the year all the way up until May, all-inclusive spot market rates from San Francisco to Dallas have been climbing steadily, to the current $6,300.

Dallas reefer volumes have begun to rise in the past couple of days. The Reefer Outbound Tender Volume Index for Dallas has risen roughly 200 bps to go along with them, providing evidence that the chance of booking a load on the way out is very likely to keep carriers loaded and rolling.

Source: freightwaves - SONAR Sightings for July 7: Reefer volume out of San Francisco rising again in time for peak season
Editor: Corey Smith