Overall tender rejects are steady at 27%, a 408% increase year-over-year, also as an impact of the recent severe weather. Current outbound tender volumes are 43% higher than 2020 and 55% higher than 2019.  There has been a huge rebound in tender volumes as negative weather impact fades.  Consumer demand is still strong and the housing market is hot. 

1. Transportation
Market Update
March 19, 2021

2. TRANSPORTATION MARKET UPDATE
Schneider’s goal is to provide the latest market insights to help you navigate the ongoing market volatility.
Whether moving a critical load, keeping your supply chain going or long-term planning, Schneider remains committed to
safely and securely delivering your freight.
Schneider leverages data and analytics from multiple sources to provide the most up-to-date insights available
including, but not limited to, FTR, DAT, FreightWaves SONAR, Cass Information Systems, Inc., FleetOwner, FMCSA,
The New York Times, NPR, ATRI, the CDC and Transport Topics. For the latest information and updates, visit
Schneider’s Trending Topics page.

3. UPCOMING VIRTUAL EVENT: IS YOUR FREIGHT UGLY?
Register now for the March 25th virtual event.
• Benchmark your approach to secure capacity with your peers in
an anonymous forum
• Understand the effect of freight characteristics on your ability to
obtain the capacity you need
• Learn how your sites are performing and examples of how
shippers used that information to make changes to their freight
• The benefits to your organization when carriers covet your freight
With the cycles of market disruption becoming more frequent, shippers are
finding it increasingly difficult to secure the capacity they need. That’s where
freight characteristics come in – is your freight ugly or attractive to drivers?

4. WEATHER HITS TRANSPORTATION NETWORKS HARD
The recent string of winter storms and cold weather that has gripped the central U.S. disrupted shipping
across the country in a way that is somewhat counterintuitive — volumes fell while capacity tightened.
This is a short-term story, but it could have a major impact on freight networks for weeks to come due to
the tight capacity environment – which can be seen in the data further on in this update.
Read more about how weather
impacts transportation networks

5. IN THE NEWS: UP ASSESSING FIRST-EVER MARCH PEAK SURCHARGE IN
CALIFORNIA
• It’s the first time UP has instituted a surcharge on the aggregate rates so early in the
year, a warning that there is higher-than-normal demand in the network several
months before the traditional peak season, which last year began in August when
UP assessed surges on shippers out of Los Angeles, Oakland/Lathrop, and Seattle, Washington.
• UP is signaling this week it’s running out of capacity in Southern California again, assessing a $250 per container surcharge
on excess loads for low-volume shippers and raising the threshold for what it categorizes as a higher-volume shipper.
• The surcharge, which covers all of California, will begin March 21 and was announced only days after UP raised its minimum
volume requirements in Los Angeles, a move that could push more customers into the category of “low-volume shipper,” and
hence subject to what’s called an “aggregate rate.”
Read the article
“Union Pacificcontinues to see increased demand for domesticcontainercapacity.In an effort
to drive more capacity towardscommittedbaseloadvolumes we are issuing a surchargefor
customers shippingsurge volume,”the railroad wrote in a customeradvisory.
Source: joc.com;Updated 3/16/2021

6. IN THE NEWS: PORT OF LONG BEACH VOLUME JUMPS 43.3% YEAR-OVER-YEAR
The combination of significantly increased import volumes
and major COVID-19 outbreaks among longshore workers
has caused historic congestion at the ports of Long Beach
and Los Angeles. The Port of Long Beach reported:
• It moved 771,735 twenty-foot equivalent units in
February, a 43.3% jump from the 538,428 TEUs handled the same month last year and “the largest
year-over-year increase for a single month in the port’s 110-year history.”
• It was the first time it handled more than 700,000 TEUs in the month of February, exceeding the
previous record set in February 2018 by 109,945 TEUs.
• Imports were up 50.3% year-over-year to 373,756 TEUs, from 248,592 in February 2020. Exports
declined 4.9% from 125,559 TEUs to 119,416.
Read the article.
Source: freightwaves.com;Updated 3/16/2021

7. IN THE NEWS: DIESEL PRICES HAVE RISEN FOR THE 19TH CONSECUTIVE WEEK
The latest price is $3.191, an increase of 4.8 cents per gallon from a week earlier.
At 19 straight weeks, the benchmark price for fuel surcharges left behind the
previous 15-week record for increases a month ago. It also has left behind all other
prices since December 2018; that was the last time the weekly DOE/EIA average
retail diesel price was as high as $3.19 a gallon.
The diesel market has been boosted by the loss of as much as 5 million barrels per
day of refining capacity on the (mostly) Texas Gulf Coast as a result of February’s
deep freeze. Bloomberg listed eight refineries as back to normal, eight restarting
(though with some fully restarted in some but not all operations), and two preparing
to initiate a restart.
Read the article here.
Source: freightwaves.com;Updated 3/16/2021

8. COVID-19 CASES CONTINUE TO STEADILY DECREASE ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Source: nytimes.com;Updated 3/16/2021

9. Source: nytimes.com,aarp.com;Updated 3/16/2021
While citizens wait to get vaccinations, most states
are enforcing a mask policy. But as numbers start to
decline, some states are starting to roll back
restrictions. To date, six states that had mask
mandates covering the general public have lifted
them: Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota
Wyoming and Texas. Learn more about each
area’s policies on this map from the New York
Times.
While most states are open, local orders may
maintain certain restrictions for those areas.
Transportation is an essential business – we
continue operations in all geographies in
accordance with state and local orders.
TO DATE, FIFTEEN STATES DO NOT HAVE MASK MANDATES

10. EXPECT THE COVID-19 VACCINATION CAMPAIGN TO CONTINUE THROUGHOUT 2021
President Joe Biden announced all U.S. adults will be
eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine by May 1. Despite
this news and the fact that some states are beginning
to remove restrictions, health experts are cautious.
"At this levelof cases with variantsspreading,we stand to
completelylosethe hard-earned ground we have gained.“
- Rochelle Walensky, CDC Director
“It will be very premature,and I think unrealistic,to think thatwe’re
going to finish with this virus by the end of the year.”
– Dr. Michael Ryan, World Health Organization
Source: cdc.gov, nbcnews.com,apnews.com;Updated 3/16/2021
Percent of population vaccinated
(3/16/21)
Vaccinated
Fully
vaccinated
United
States
21% 12%
Canada 6.9% 1.6%
Mexico 3% .5%

11. Current outbound tender volumes
are 43% higher than 2020 and
55% higher than 2019.
There has been a huge rebound in
tender volumes as negative weather
impact fades.
Consumer demand is still strong and
the housing market is hot.
OUTBOUND TENDER VOLUME INDEX
Outbound tender volumes represent demand for capacity in the origin area. An increase in volume represents an increase in demand. Source: FreightWaves;Updated 3/16/2021
2018-2019
2021
2019-2020

12. Overall tender rejects are steady at 27%, a 408% increase year-over-year, also as an impact of the recent
severe weather.
Outbound tender rejects are an indication of available capacity in the origin market of the freight. If rejections are increasing,
capacity may be tightening in that area.
OUTBOUND TENDER REJECT INDEX
Source: FreightWaves;Updated 3/16/2021
Flatbed
Truckload
Refrigerated

13. The graph below details outbound tender rejects based on length of haul, regardless of mode. All lengths
of haul increased since our last report.
City/local (< 100 miles): 9%
Short-haul (100-250 miles): 19%
Mid-haul (250-450 miles): 29%
Tweener (450-800 miles): 36%
Long-haul (800+ miles): 29%
Source: FreightWaves;Updated 3/16/2021
OUTBOUND TENDER REJECT INDEX BY LENGTH OF HAUL
Outbound tender rejects are an indication of available capacity in the origin market of the freight.
If rejections are increasing, capacity may be tightening in that area.

14. TRUCK FREIGHT RECOVERY INDEX
Seasonally adjusted freight
activity continued to ease
from its recent surge but
remains quite strong at
roughly double pre-pandemic
levels.
Read more
Source: Truckstop.com SpotMarket Insights
Analysis by FTR | Transportation Intelligence
Updated:3/15/21

15. RAIL FREIGHT RECOVERY INDEX
Intermodal networks have bounced back after recent winter weather-related disruptions. Read more.
Source: Truckstop.com SpotMarket Insights
Analysis by FTR | Transportation Intelligence
Updated:3/10/21

16. ALWAYS DELIVERING, ALWAYS AHEAD
Schneider FreightPower® delivers expanded, flexible capacity options for shippers, regardless of market
condition or location. Start harnessing the power of Schneider FreightPower® today and set your business
up for success.