DAT Trendline Explanation

Yes you add the numbers together.
According to the website the number is the "broker buy" price. Whatever that means.
I have issues with DAT's data and data presentation. DAT doesn't disclose much information about their data. They like to say it's proprietary. If you don't know where the data comes from, how old it is and how many samples were used you can't evaluate the data in order to know how to interpret it. So take a bunch of questionable data and calculate the average and you have their trend lines. How useful is the average of a questionable data set? So the other questions I can't answer. They also put out useless quarterly reports which I wrote about at this link.
One of my other gripes with DAT is their rate index on their TruckersEdge load board are contract rates and, if I remember correctly, are at least 30 days old.

 

They're meaningless numbers of no value to you in the here and now. They don't call it "spot freight" for nothing. Price is whatever can be agreed to on the spot. You have to read them and they're trying to read you. How badly does this broker need a truck? How badly does this trucker need a load?

 

That's my point.

 

Understood. He seemed to be frustrated at the lack of replies. There have been discussions in the past where the same points were made.

 

Disclaimer: I work for DAT.

Trendlines is a free site, where DAT publishes the national average rates for vans, reefers and flatbeds every week. Spot market rates are the rates that brokers pay for the truck. Contract rates are the rates that shippers pay.

The fuel surcharge is separated in the big graph you're referring to, so you can see the trend in line haul rates and in fuel prices. The brokers typically do not quote rates that way, though, so you'd add the line haul rate with the fuel surcharge to get the national average rate. In December, it was $1.48 + $0.47 = $1.95. The direct rate from a shipper in December was $1.59 + $0.47 = $2.06.

National averages are very general, and if your load originates in Dallas, you are going to get a lower rate today than you would if it originates in Indianapolis. We have some products that address that, but it would not be good manners to promote them here.

Hope that helps. If you have other questions, or if you'd like a more detailed reply, please feel free to get in touch with DAT through Twitter (twitter.com/loadboards) or Facebook (facebook.com/loadboards) or the DAT blog (dat.com//blog/default.aspx.)