Loads, loads, and more loads for December as daily volumes continued to increase, closing out the year with record highs.
TORONTO – Loadlink Technologies’ Canadian spot market continued to buck historic trends that usually see dropping demand for capacity near the end of a calendar year. Compared to last December, volumes saw a staggering increase of 120 percent year-over-year and even surpassed November’s record month by 20 percent.
2021 SPOT FREIGHT HIGHLIGHTS
- Loads are off the charts from anything we’ve ever seen – more than double the volume of December 2020.
- Monthly load volumes increased for six consecutive months in the second half of the year.
- The highest truck-to-load ratio was in July at 3.08 and the lowest was in December at 1.21, the lowest since 2018.
“The festive frenzy did not escape the freight industry as demand was stronger than we’ve ever seen this past December,” says Claudia Milicevic, president of Loadlink Technologies.
December’s Canadian spot market saw significant surges in the movement of freight both within Canada and cross-border.
Outbound Cross-border Activity
Month-over-month, loads from Canada to the United States were up 6 percent compared to November 2021, while year-over-year, outbound loads soared 171 percent. Equipment postings were down twelve percent year-over-year and down seventeen percent from November.
Inbound Cross-border Activity
Inbound loads spiked 47 percent compared to last month and 118 percent compared to December of last year. Equipment postings were down six percent year-over-year and twenty-four percent from November.
Intra-Canadian Activity
Freight activity within Canada remained at healthy levels. Month-over-month, loads within Canada heated up 9 percent, while year-over-year, the increase swelled 125 percent over December 2020. Equipment postings were down fifteen percent from November, and up year-over-year by five percent.
Average Truck-to-Load Ratios
The truck-to-load ratio remained below two trucks for every one load posted on Loadlink for the second month in a row. The ratio for December was 1.21 available trucks for every load posted, down 32 percent from 1.79 in November. Year-over-year, December’s truck-to-load ratio was 56 percent lower compared to a ratio of 2.75 in December 2020.
About Loadlink Indexes
Rate Index data is based on the average spot rates paid by freight brokers and shippers to carriers in the specific lanes where loads are hauled. This data also shows real-time and historical available capacity, and total truck-to-load ratios.
Freight Index data provides insight into Canada’s economy at large and is a primary resource for the trucking community. The Freight Index accurately measures trends in the truckload freight spot market as its components are comprised from roughly 6,500 Canadian carriers and freight brokers. This data includes all domestic, cross-border, and interstate data submitted by Loadlink customers.
About Loadlink Technologies
Loadlink Technologies helps Canadian transportation companies facilitate the critical movement of goods by trucks through the use of its technology. With decades of propelling innovation and by way of its modernized freight matching, the company helps its members drive better business performance and competitiveness while delivering new levels of customer experiences.