Freight Data Explained: Rates, Seasonality, and Market Signals with Avery Vise

Episode notes

Understanding the freight market starts with knowing how to interpret it. In this episode of Behind the Freight, Todd Waldron and John Howland speak with Avery Vise, VP of Trucking at FTR Transportation Intelligence, about how to make sense of rates, capacity, and the signals shaping the industry. Avery walks through his role as an analyst, explaining how his work focuses on identifying long-term trends rather than short-term movements. He highlights a common challenge in the industry. Many operators look at week-to-week changes without considering broader patterns like seasonality, which can lead to poor decisions. Events like the December rate surge often create false signals that the market is turning, when in reality they are part of a predictable cycle. The conversation also explores how spot market data should be used. Rather than treating it as exact pricing guidance, Avery frames it as a directional tool that helps carriers and brokers understand where the market is moving. He emphasizes the importance of combining rate data with volume and context to get a more complete picture.

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