Houston Truckload Market Tightens to No. 2 of 135 in Under Two Weeks

Houston's truckload market flipped from one of the nation's loosest to the second-tightest of 135 markets tracked by FreightWaves SONAR in under two weeks, driven by a spike in tender rejections and a 37% week-over-week jump in van spot rates. Outbound tender rejections reached 10.47% as of Sept. 22, up nearly 3 percentage points week over week and 6 points year over year. Nationally, the market remains fragile. The STVI volume index rose 12.9% week over week, while national tender rejections held above 14%, up about 1 point month over month. National van spot rates hit $3.42, up 4.27% month over month, and intermodal contract rates climbed to $1.73, up 8%. Diesel stood at $6.54 per gallon, near a 52-week high, with WTI at $92 a barrel. The $1.10 retail-to-wholesale spread favors carriers buying at wholesale.