In what is hopefully a positive sign for 2016, the number of available flatbed loads has climbed steadily since the start of the year.  Available loads have risen 86% from the 12/29/15 benchmark.  The current mark is now close to the level experienced in September of last year.  While that is good news, this is still at the lowest levels seen back in 2014 (end of year holidays).  Of all the markets across the country where ZMac Transportation evaluates capacity, 75% of the markets experienced growth the past two months.

The accompanying chart reflects the variance in number of available outbound loads over the past two months from the respective market’s 90-day average.  The Midwest Great Lake areas are predominately represented in the top 15 areas, with Chicago and Detroit pulling along adjacent areas.  Alabama markets have risen sharply in the past month.  The bottom 15 areas, largely represented by the Northwest markets, have been rather stagnant and have not experienced any significant declines.  This can be attributed to the extremely low capacity levels seen at the end of last year.