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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
77
out of 100
-0.7 1d+0.2 7d+1.3 30d
Capacity Status
EXTREMELY TIGHT
Carriers have the leverage. Lock rates before quoting.
Why this number
The national Capacity Tightness Index sits at 77 — a carrier's market. Shippers are competing for available trucks at 8.3 loads per truck, well above the long-run balance point of ~3.0. Tightest markets today: Los Angeles (88), Houston (87), Dallas (84). Loosest markets: Seattle (54), New York (60), Minneapolis (64). Week-over-week movement is muted (+0.2 pts); expect rates to track the trend.
Load-to-Truck Ratio
Weight: 60%
8.3
loads / truck
Component score: 96 / 100DAT Load-to-Truck weekly

8.3 loads per available truck nationally

Spot Rate Velocity
Weight: 40%
+0.00%
week over week
Component score: 50 / 100DAT spot rates

Spot dry van rates +0.00% 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.

#1Los Angeles, CA
8.7 L/T · +2.4% rates
88
Extremely Tight
#2Houston, TX
8.8 L/T · +2.1% rates
87
Extremely Tight
#3Dallas, TX
7.9 L/T · +1.9% rates
84
Extremely Tight
#4Atlanta, GA
7.5 L/T · +1.4% rates
80
Extremely Tight
#5Memphis, TN
7.3 L/T · +1.5% rates
79
Extremely Tight
#6Phoenix, AZ
6.6 L/T · +1.4% rates
74
Tight
#7Chicago, IL
6.5 L/T · +0.5% rates
70
Tight
#8Denver, CO
6.0 L/T · +1.3% rates
70
Tight
#9Columbus, OH
5.7 L/T · +0.9% rates
66
Tight
#10Minneapolis, MN
5.5 L/T · +0.6% rates
64
Tight
#11New York, NY
5.3 L/T · +0.1% rates
60
Balanced
#12Seattle, WA
4.8 L/T · -0.6% rates
54
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

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