Freight Futures contract to watch today: Seattle, WA to Los Angeles, CA (VSL)
After a very active and volatile December 2019 and spot contract roll, Trucking Freight Futures prices have begun to settle into a narrow range. The spot National contract (FUT.VNU202001) finished unchanged for the third consecutive trading session at $1.455/mile. The East regional contract (FUT.VEU202001) ended the session fractionally higher to $1.628 while the West regional contract (FUT.VWU202001) slid 0.2% to settle at $1.489. The South regional contract (FUT.VSU202001) closed at $1.247, unchanged on the day.
On the lanes, the East continues to be a source of relative strength. The CHI to ATL contract (FUT.VCA202001) continued its January push and was up 0.15% to $2.036, as did the PHL to CHI contract (FUT.VPC202001), which gained 0.64% and closed at $1.092. The ATL to PHL contract (FUT.VAP202001) fell 0.23% to end at $1.756. In the West, the SEA to LAX contract (FUT.VSL202001), which has been under pressure since a 24% drop on the spot contract roll, dropped another 0.5% to settle at $0.979. The forward curve for the lane (FWD.VSL) points to continued downward pressure into the third quarter. The LAX to SEA contract (FUT.VLS202001) seems to have found a floor as it has remained at $2.000 since last Friday. In the South, the DAL to LAX contract (FUT.VDL202001) was fractionally higher and the LAX to DAL contract (FUT.VLD202001) was unchanged at $1.034 and $1.460, respectively.
