TransCore reports that spot market freight availability up 69 percent year-over-year in October

As has been the case in recent months, the spot market continues to post impressive gains on an annual basis, according to data from the TransCore North American Freight Index.

For October, TransCore reported that spot market freight availability was up 69 percent year-over-year, representing the third straight month in which spot freight hit its highest year-over-year levels since 2005, which TransCore said was a peak year for spot market volume.

August and September spot market annual gains were 75 percent and 65 percent, respectively, and October’s load volume was relatively flat, with a 0.9 percent sequential gain from September.

While freight volumes are showing some modest signs of improvement, TransCore has said that will likely result in annual spot market comparisons heading down, which has been occurring for the most part. This is especially true when looking at annual comparisons from June and July, which were up 112 percent and 122 percent respectively.

And even though sport market volume was flat on a sequential basis, TransCore said that in the last six years, spot market volume has increased month-over-month three times by an average of 19 percent and declined three times by an average of 15 percent, with a six-year average increase of 1.7 percent from August to September.

A research report from Ed Wolfe, president of Wolfe Trahan, noted that “pricing pressure has moderated in recent months as demand has fallen from summer’s highs.” And Jon Langenfeld, analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co., said that his firm’s spot market demand index, excluding an October uptick in demand, reflects a modest upward trend since bottoming in August. Langenfeld also noted that other spot demand resource have begun to reflect a modest uptick in demand starting in early November.

A freight transportation expert told LM that while 2010 levels look good on an annual basis compared to a tough 2009, the sequential trending down in spot market freight availability—and the American Trucking Associations and Cass Information Systems monthly freight indices to a certain extent—are to be expected. And while freight volumes are not rising at the level they did earlier in the year, the expert said volumes, instead, appear to be settling in.