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Chart of the week: Average Departure Duration – USA SOUND: OALOHA.USA
The average length of a truck’s haul has plummeted in recent months, averaging nearly 8% shorter year over year to start in 2025. This is a dramatic change from what was happening this summer, when load lengths averaged 7% longer than last year. year This may not seem like much to the outside observer, but the implications are quite dramatic from a supply chain and carrier management perspective.
The data suggest that the reduction in load lengths is being driven by the simultaneous growth in demand for loads moving less than 100 miles and the reduction in demand for loads moving more than 450 miles.
In the above graph, COTVI (green) represents local truckload tenders that move less than a quarter of a day by car. Its annual growth rate averaged around 20% through 2024. COTVI’s growth rate outpaced all other cargo lengths. Total tender volume growth averaged around 7% throughout the year.
The growth in shorter-haul truckloads possibly stems from companies’ efforts to reduce the length of transportation between the distribution center and the consumer. The growth of e-commerce is the driving force behind this initiative. Consumers who choose to order online need delivery times as close as possible to the same-day delivery they can get by going to a store.
This does not, however, account for all of the reduced load lengths. This commodity still has to be moved to the delivery centers from long distances. In other words, a series of short moves does not replace a longer one.
Long-haul truckload volumes ( LOTVI ) were down 13% year-over-year last week, suggesting this is something beyond seasonality.
Intermodal rail demand was up 6% from this time last year, a trend that has been consistent over the past seven months. Beginning in July, shippers began using intermodal more frequently for shipments originating on the West Coast, possibly as a result of the deterioration in service they received from truckload providers.
Bid rejection rates, the percentage of cargo coverage requests rejected by carriers, for cargo moving out of the Ontario, California market, jumped from an extremely low 3% in early May to more than 8% in June and then exceeded 9% around the quarter. of July
This decline in carrier compliance coincided with subsequent growth in loaded intermodal containers (OTHERS. LAX) moves to the rails outside of Los Angeles.
Ongoing conflicts and geopolitical tensions are pushing shippers to bring in inventory faster than they normally would. This puts less pressure on domestic shipping, as many goods are already in the country when they are needed for replenishment.
