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Capacity Tightness Index

The 'Fear Index' of freight — a single 0–100 score for how tight U.S. trucking capacity is right now.

LooseBalancedTight
80
out of 100
+0.4 1d+0.2 7d+1.2 30d
Capacity Status
EXTREMELY TIGHT
Carriers have the leverage. Lock rates before quoting.
Why this number
The national Capacity Tightness Index sits at 80 — a carrier's market. Shippers are competing for available trucks at 9.6 loads per truck, well above the long-run balance point of ~3.0. Tightest markets today: Houston (91), Los Angeles (89), Dallas (88). Loosest markets: Seattle (57), New York (61), Minneapolis (61). Week-over-week movement is muted (+0.2 pts); expect rates to track the trend.
Load-to-Truck Ratio
Weight: 60%
9.6
loads / truck
Component score: 99 / 100DAT Load-to-Truck weekly

9.6 loads per available truck nationally

Spot Rate Velocity
Weight: 40%
+0.08%
week over week
Component score: 51 / 100DAT spot rates

Spot dry van rates +0.08% week over week

30-Day Tightness Trend

Daily index score with tight / balanced / loose reference bands.

Regional Capacity Pulse

Top metro markets ranked by tightness. Same formula applied regionally.

#1Houston, TX
9.0 L/T · +3.1% rates
91
Extremely Tight
#2Los Angeles, CA
8.5 L/T · +2.9% rates
89
Extremely Tight
#3Dallas, TX
8.3 L/T · +2.7% rates
88
Extremely Tight
#4Phoenix, AZ
6.6 L/T · +2.9% rates
80
Extremely Tight
#5Memphis, TN
7.5 L/T · +0.8% rates
77
Extremely Tight
#6Atlanta, GA
7.7 L/T · +0.4% rates
77
Extremely Tight
#7Columbus, OH
6.0 L/T · +2.2% rates
74
Tight
#8Denver, CO
5.9 L/T · +2.0% rates
73
Tight
#9Chicago, IL
6.0 L/T · -0.9% rates
62
Tight
#10Minneapolis, MN
5.4 L/T · +0.1% rates
61
Tight
#11New York, NY
5.3 L/T · +0.2% rates
61
Balanced
#12Seattle, WA
4.8 L/T · +0.1% rates
57
Balanced

Regional Pulse — Crowdsourced

Quick 2-second pulse from drivers and dispatchers. Votes reset every 24 hours.

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How was finding a load today?

Live results — last 24h
Los Angeles, CA
Total votes
0
Where drivers are reporting most tightness

Methodology

The Capacity Tightness Index combines national load-to-truck ratios (60%) with spot-rate velocity (40%), normalizing each component to a 0–100 scale. Load-to-truck converts via a piecewise scale anchored at a 2.0 ratio (loose) through 8.0+ (extremely tight). Rate velocity maps weekly % change with 0% → 50, ±5% → 0/100. Scores: 0–39 loose (blue), 40–60 balanced (gray), 61–100 tight (red). Regional scores apply the same formula to metro-level inputs.

0 – 39
Loose
40 – 60
Balanced
61 – 100
Tight

Data Sources