Table of the week: Average Draw Length – USA SONAR: OALOHA.USA
The average haul length of truck loads has fallen sharply in recent months, averaging nearly 8% shorter year over year through early 2025. This is a dramatic shift from what was happening this summer, when load lengths averaged 7% longer than the previous year. This may not seem like much to an outside observer, but the implications are quite dramatic from a supply chain management and carrier perspective.
The data suggest that the decrease in freight length was driven by a simultaneous increase in demand for freight moving less than 100 miles and a decrease in demand for freight moving more than 450 miles.
In the above graph, COTVI (green) represents local freight trucks that travel less than a quarter of the driving day. Its annual growth rate averaged around 20% through 2024. COTVI’s growth rate outperformed all other load lengths. The overall growth in the volume of tenders averaged around 7% for the whole year.
The growth of short-haul truck loads probably stems from companies’ efforts to reduce the length of transport between the distribution center and the consumer. The growth of e-commerce is the driving force behind this initiative. Consumers who choose to order online need delivery times that are as close as possible to the same-day delivery they can get by going to a store.
However, this does not explain all the lengths of cargo collection. This cargo still has to move long distances to the delivery centers. In other words, a series of short moves does not replace a longer one.
Long-haul truckload volume (LOTVI) fell 13% year-on-year last week, suggesting it was somewhat seasonal.
Demand for intermodal rail is up 6% compared to this time last year, a trend that has been consistent for the past seven months. Beginning in July, shippers began using intermodal services more frequently for shipments coming from the West Coast, likely a result of the deterioration in service they were receiving from trucking providers.
Rejection rates, the percentage of load coverage requests rejected by carriers, for loads moving out of the Ontario, California market jumped from an extremely low 3% in early May to over 8% in June, then topped 9% around the Fourth of July.
This decline in carrier compliance coincided with a subsequent rise in loaded intermodal containers (ORAILL.LAX) moves to the rails from Los Angeles.
Ongoing conflicts and geopolitical tensions are forcing shippers to deliver supplies faster than usual. This puts less pressure on domestic shipping as many goods are already in the country when they are needed for replenishment.
