Freight Futures lane to watch today: Van National Contract (VNU)
The volatility in the West and South regions from the end of last week carried over into Monday’s session with an offsetting impact on the National average. The spot National contract (FUT.VNU201910) settled Monday unchanged at $1.410; however, a trade in the November contract (FUT.VNU201911) at $1.510 lifted the short-term forward curve (FWD.VNU) by $0.013 per mile and has created a $0.10 spread between the October and November contracts. The South regional contract (FUT.VSU201910) continued its slide from last week by dropping another $0.013, or a little over 1% to $1.237, while the West regional contract (FUT.VWU201910) reversed course and added $0.015 to settle the day at $1.517. The East region (FUT.VEU201910) was unchanged at $1.476.
One lane each in the South and West drove the particular region. In the South, the LAX to DAL contract (FUT.VLD201910) fell another 1.9% or $0.031 from Friday’s settlement and closed at $1.613. This contract has 25,000 miles of open interest which is set to expire at the end of October. In the West, the LAX to SEA contract (FUT.VLS201910) recovered by 1.43% and gained $0.029 to finish the session at $2.052. This contract has 5,000 miles of open interest. The three contracts in the East were all unchanged on the day.
