Apr 26, 2010 11:57 AM

Spot market freight availability increased by 259% in March 2010 compared with the same month in 2009, according to TransCore’s North American Freight Index. The high load volume in March, added to the atypically high totals of January and February, contributed to the strongest first quarter volume since 2004.

March’s spot freight also exceeded February’s near-record volume by 44%. A month-over-month increase of this magnitude is typical of the season.

Brokers, third-party logistics suppliers, carriers, and owner-operators in North America are on track to list more than 60 million loads and trucks this year across a variety of services feeding TransCore’s DAT Network. As a result of this high volume, TransCore’s North American Freight Index is representative of the ups and downs in spot market freight availability throughout the United States and Canada.

According to TransCore, the DAT Network provides:

•The most loads and trucks found on any load board on the Internet or in truckstops.

•The highest number of exclusive loads found on a single load board.

•The best quality brokers in the industry with the highest credit scores and lowest-days-to-pay.