TORONTO – TransCore Link Logistics’ Canadian spot market continued its upward momentum in 2019 with a significant 20 percent increase in daily freight availability in February compared to January. Total truck volumes declined month–over-month, and average daily postings were relatively flat in February. The number of load postings on the last day of February were the highest Loadlink has recorded since July 2018.
Month-over-month, February’s load volumes finished four percent higher than January, although these numbers were down 35 percent year-over-year.
Intra-Canada loads accounted for 32 percent of the total volumes. Load postings within Canada increased 23 percent compared to January and were down just four percent year-over-year.
Cross-border load postings represented 67 percent of the data submitted by Loadlink users.
There was a slight decline in cross-border load postings in February, mainly due to fewer loads entering Ontario and Quebec from the United States.
- Loads leaving Canada to the U.S. increased 21 percent, but loads entering Canada from the U.S. slipped 12 percent.
- Loads from the U.S. entering Ontario decreased 16 percent, while loads entering Quebec decreased 22 percent.
Overall, cross-border load postings on Loadlink decreased three percent from January. This suggests the overall four percent increase in load postings was due to the significant increase in intra-Canadian activity.
Equipment Performance
February equipment numbers saw a 12 percent dip due to the shortened month; however, the daily average number of truck postings increased by one percentage point. Compared to February 2018, equipment volumes were up 65 percent year-over-year.
Truck-to-Load Ratio
This disparity in growth between load and truck availability pushed capacity downwards by 16 percent from 2.54 to 2.14. Year-over-year, the average ratio increased 153 percent from 0.85 in February 2018.
About TransCore Indexes
Truckload spot rates in specific areas can be accessed from TransCore’s Rate Index truckload rating tool, and real-time and historical data on total truck and load volumes, as well as ratios in specific areas can be accessed from TransCore’s Posting Index.
TransCore’s Canadian Freight Index accurately measures trends in the truckload freight spot market. The components of the Freight Index are comprised from roughly 6,300 of Canada’s trucking companies and freight brokers; this data includes all domestic, cross-border and interstate data submitted by Loadlink customers.
About TransCore Link Logistics
Looking for a better way to match available freight loads with trucks, TransCore Link Logistics in 1990 developed Loadlink, a load board connecting brokers, carriers, owner operators and private fleets in Canada to a real-time database of 18 million loads, shipments and trucks – the largest in the industry. The monthly Canadian Freight Index now defines the freight movement spot market. The company also provides its customers with dispatch solutions, ACE/ACI eManifest, Posting Index, Rate Index, credit solutions, factoring, an online transportation job board, mileage software and more.
More information on TransCore Link Logistics can be found at www.transcore.ca, @loadlink on Twitter, on YouTube, on Facebook and on LinkedIn.