The freight markets have reentered “chaos is business as usual” territory. There has been very little change to any of the major indices this week as the Outbound Tender Volume and Reject Indices have both moved horizontally for two weeks now. Since the winter blizzard disruption, tender volumes took a leg up and have remained elevated since. The natural peak in tender volumes (and rejections) seems to be in place, but the spring freight season is upon us.
Year-over-year comparisons are becoming increasingly more difficult given the 30% surge in volumes on the back of consumer panic buying and hoarding at the beginning of the pandemic. For this reason, two-year comparisons glean more meaningful insights throughout the rest of 1H21.
After adjusting for rejected tenders, OTVI is up ~25% over 2019 and up ~13% over last year. The lasting impact of the winter storms is being felt in the reefer market. The power outages meant many goods were left without a way to manage their environment, putting many perishables and other goods at risk for spoilage or damage. Demand for reefer trailers exploded in Texas, with the Reefer Outbound Tender Volume Index for the state increasing over 50% in a 10-day stretch, potentially leaving a vacuum in other parts of the country.
Over the past three months, growth in outbound reefer tender volumes (ROTVI.USA) has outpaced dry van growth, with the disparity accelerating during the storms. As a result of the imbalance,…
