Blog

The content below is for brokers interested in utilizing the DrayNow spot market. For brokers interested in securing intermodal drayage service for their contracted lanes, please feel free to reach out to us via contact form.

For a look at last month’s data dive on intermodal spot rates, click the link here.

In the data coming out of November, the intermodal drayage spot rates in our key markets are the complete inverse of the data seen in October, while trending closer than ever. Rates were down 4% in Chicago, up 13% in Los Angeles and up 10% in Atlanta.

After falling 26% last month, Los Angeles spot rates are heading back to normal levels, up 13% in November. Even though rates in LA are on their way up, they’re still 27% lower than their peak in June. Compared to this time last year, the average rate per mile in the LA market is down 7%.

While LA rates saw an increase, intermodal spot rates in the Chicago market were down in November, dropping 4%. This is the lowest that Chicago intermodal spot rates have gone in the past 9 months, and second lowest point of the year. Looking at the year-over-year numbers, Chicago is seeing spot rates 12% higher than the same time in 2021.

Following months of relative stability in spot rate trends, the Atlanta market saw a 10% spot rate per mile increase in November. This is actually the highest average spot rate recorded in Atlanta for the year, and just a few percentage points shy of the record high last December. In comparison to November 2021, spot rates are up 5%.

The big story as of recent is about diesel prices falling across the United States. It would be entirely logical to predict lower intermodal spot rates in the month of December given the drop in fuel prices, but rates are typically higher during the holiday season. With these two factors hitting the spot market, it will be intriguing to see where intermodal spot rate trends go in the month of December.