Cass: truckload linehaul rates up 10.1% in September as shipments grow for a second straight month

Truckload linehaul rates rose 10.1% year over year in September, according to FreightWaves on Oct. 13, reporting the latest monthly data from Cass Information Systems.

The Cass truckload linehaul index, which excludes fuel and accessorial charges, also rose 0.6% from August to its highest absolute level in four years. September was the 21st straight month of year-over-year growth for the index, which is weighted mainly toward contract rates but also includes for-hire spot rates. Cass noted that sequential growth ran slightly below the year-to-date average as spot rates eased, while the much larger contract market kept moving higher.

Shipment counts turned positive for a second straight month. Cass shipments rose 1.9% year over year in September, following 42 months of declines, and were up 2.3% from August, or 1.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis. Cass includes all domestic transportation modes in the index, with truckload and less-than-truckload shipments making up most of the dataset.

Total freight expenditures, which include fuel, jumped 20.4% year over year and 6.7% from August, driven by higher volumes, higher rates, and diesel prices that Cass put up 68% year over year in September. Cass forecast its shipments index to rise 4% year over year in October and its expenditures index to rise 23%, assuming normal seasonal patterns hold.

The report linked the improving volumes to modest retail and industrial growth and inventory restocking as container imports surge, and said a smaller private fleet and rising new-equipment sales also support for-hire volumes. U.S. manufacturing stayed in expansion territory for a ninth straight month in September, with the Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing PMI at 54.5 and new orders at 55.3. Cass processes $37 billion in freight payables a year for its shipper customers.