CHART: FREIGHTWAVES’ SONAR
Volumes out of the Tifton, Georgia market have been moving upward since the beginning of the month, with FreightWaves’ SONAR Outbound Tender Volume Index (OTVI.TMA) showing a 33 percent surge since June 2.
Outbound rejection rates (OTRI.TMA) have been climbing over the same period of time, increasing 274 bps from 10.96 percent to 13.7 percent. Rising outbound tender rejections mean that carriers are turning down their electronically tendered freight at growing rates. This indicates that Tifton is a tightening market.
“The main driver of increasing rejection rates has been reefer demand, as the reefer tender rejection (RTRI.TMA) index jumped from 15.97 percent to over 34 percent in the past five days,” FreightWaves Market Expert Zach Strickland said in an email to SONAR subscribers Wednesday morning. “Van rejection rates (VTRI.TMA) also jumped 172 bps yesterday to land at 13.23 percent. Tweener haul loads in the 450 to 800 mile band are having the highest incidence of carrier rejection at 21.57 percent, increasing 754 bps since June 13.”
Headhaul values have remained strong in the Tifton market, rising from 33.49 to 45.66 in the last week. The higher the headhaul number climbs, the easier it should be to get a load out of the given market.
Strickland’s advice to carriers is simple: Go to Tifton.
“If scouring the spot market for freight, look for any opportunities out of this area that may offer a decent rate, or potentially take a lower paying load into the area,” he said. “Longer haul load availability means there is strong revenue potential as well as solid utilization.”
