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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
75
out of 100
-7.2 1d+1.6 7d+0.4 30d
Capacity Status
TIGHT
Carriers have the leverage. Lock rates before quoting.
Why this number
The national index is 75: tight, but not panicked. 7.7 loads are chasing every available truck and spot rates rose -0.2% week over week. Tightest markets today: Los Angeles (90), Houston (86), Dallas (86). Loosest markets: Seattle (55), Minneapolis (61), New York (62). Week-over-week movement is muted (+1.6 pts); expect rates to track the trend.
Load-to-Truck Ratio
Weight: 60%
7.7
loads / truck
Component score: 92 / 100DAT Load-to-Truck weekly

7.7 loads per available truck nationally

Spot Rate Velocity
Weight: 40%
-0.17%
week over week
Component score: 48 / 100DAT spot rates

Spot dry van rates -0.17% 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 · +2.9% rates
90
Extremely Tight
#2Houston, TX
8.2 L/T · +2.3% rates
87
Extremely Tight
#3Dallas, TX
7.9 L/T · +2.3% rates
86
Extremely Tight
#4Atlanta, GA
7.6 L/T · +2.1% rates
83
Extremely Tight
#5Memphis, TN
7.2 L/T · +1.8% rates
80
Extremely Tight
#6Phoenix, AZ
6.7 L/T · +1.4% rates
75
Tight
#7Chicago, IL
6.5 L/T · +1.0% rates
72
Tight
#8Columbus, OH
6.0 L/T · +0.9% rates
69
Tight
#9Denver, CO
5.8 L/T · +1.1% rates
68
Tight
#10New York, NY
5.4 L/T · +0.3% rates
62
Tight
#11Minneapolis, MN
5.3 L/T · +0.2% rates
61
Balanced
#12Seattle, WA
5.0 L/T · -0.5% rates
55
Balanced

Regional Pulse — Crowdsourced

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

——

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