A few weeks ago, we added the Headhaul Index (HAUL) to the SONAR platform. Just like many of the indices the true value is not in the static number but the movement of values over time. We affectionately call these the tri-deltas after the Greek symbol delta that means ‘“change” in statistics notation. HAUL now has deltas available, making the markets easier to analyze. The delta indices will be the following symbols for each market:
HAULW – Weekly change
HAULF – Two-week change
HAULM – Monthly change
The biggest value of the HAUL deltas will be on the map function. The map allows you to quickly see where the markets are having the biggest movements, which will enable the user to know where to target activity each day.
In the example above, you can see the Little Rock market has a darker blue color indicating a larger increase in value than the U.S. average. Clicking on the market reveals Little Rock has experienced a 27 point increase in HAUL, meaning the outbound volume is increasing faster than inbound volume over the past 7 days. When outbound volume exceeds inbound by increasing amounts, the chances for capacity shortages and therefore increased rates exist.
Conversely a declining HAUL value over time indicates inbound volume is increasing faster than outbound volume and will have more capacity available in the market than there has been. Rates will decrease in this scenario.
Trucks in Market changes and deltas
Trucks in Market (TRUK) has recently had a change in methodology to more accurately portray trucking activity in a market. Previously TRUK had been calculated by taking the average of the amount of trucks in a market over the previous 2 weeks on that specific day. The problem with this is the view is a little too narrow and does not give the user a static point of reference making the value difficult to understand.
TRUK is now an index with a base period of the first week of April and a base value of 100. Any value above or below represents a percentage increase or decrease in the amount of trucks moving in a market on a given day. All the changes are made historically, meaning the methodology has been implemented over the entire data set.
Example: TRUK.GSO has a value of 117 on September 23rd. This means there is 17% more trucks in that market than there was in the first week of April.
TRUK also has delta values:
TRUKW, TRUKF, and TRUKM for weekly, two week, and monthly change.
Tender Rejections by State
We have also added a new qualifier to the popular outbound and inbound tender rejection indices (OTRI/ITRI) by adding states as a possible option. Now a user can view how individual states tender rejections compare to each other and the general market, making it easier to judge where the hottest markets are by region.
The tickers are formed by combining OTRI or ITRI with a 2 letter state code. I.e OTRI.CA produces outbound tender rejections for the state of California.
Accidents per state and per 10,000 highway miles
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMSCA) collects data on incidents involving large vehicles that require a commercial drivers license (CDL). SONAR now has this data available by state in total and in the ratio of incidents per 10,000 highway miles. This number will tell carriers where and when they can operate in the safest environment.
These are significant accidents with either immediate medical action requested and/or significant damage done.
They are represented by the following index symbols:
APS – Accidents per state
APHS – Accidents per 10,000 highway miles
An example of a full ticker for wrecks per state in the state of Alabama would be APS.AL.
