Freight Futures data to watch today: Futures Spot Price Change (Weekly)
What began as a quiet week turned out to be anything but for the Trucking Freight Futures market. The first half of the week saw national rates rise slightly driven by moderate strength in the East and calmness in the West and South. This all changed on Thursday and Friday as fundamentals drove clarity to the market. The spot National contract (FUT.VNU201910), which was fractionally higher to start the week, ended down $0.02 or 1.4% to $1.410 per mile. Driving the National contract lower were steep declines in both the West and South regions. The West contract (FUT.VWU201910) lost $0.045 or nearly 3% and closed at $1.502. Similarly the South contract (FUT.VSU201910) dropped $0.045 or 3.5% to $1.250. These declines more than offset a $0.029 rise in the East contract (FUT.VEU201910) to $1.476.
One lane from each region told a story for the week. In the East, the ATL to PHI contract (FUT.VAP201910) gained $0.056 to end the week at $1.590 as capacity around Atlanta tightened. In the West, the LAX to SEA contract (FUT.VLS201910) tumbled $0.08 or 3.8% to $2.023 and in the South, the LAX to DAL contract (FUT.VLD201910) shed nearly 5% or $0.085 to $1.644. Both lanes fell on renewed concerns over the real impact of the U.S.-China trade war.
SONAR Tickers: Tree Watch List (Weekly Change) – Spot Month Futures