TORONTO, Ont. — Canadian spot market freight saw its second best month of 2012 in June, but was down both month-over-month and year-over-year, according to the latest data from TransCore.

TransCore’s Canadian spot market freight index was down 2% compared to this May and 6% lower than June 2011. The second quarter of 2012 saw a 20% gain over the first quarter of this year and was 6% below Q2 2011.

Cross-border postings increased slightly in June, according to TransCore, accounting for 75% of all load postings. Equipment postings declined by 7% month-over-month and were up 5% year-over-year in June.

“While load volumes saw a significant quarter-over-quarter gain, equipment availability only increased by a modest 4%, resulting in a much lower equipment-to-loads ratio than the previous quarter,” TransCore reported. “The equipment-to-loads ratio dropped in June reaching the lowest levels in 2012 – and the lowest level since June 2011.”

Regionally, the top destinations for loads imported into Canada were: Ontario 54%; Quebec 23%; Western Canada 20%; and Atlantic Canada 3%.

The top regions for import equipment into Canada were: Ontario 53%; Western Canada 24%; Quebec 20%; Atlantic Canada 3%.

The top regions of origins for loads within Canada were: Western Canada 44%; Ontario 26%; Quebec 22%; and Atlantic Canada 8%.

Most Canada-bound loads originating in the US came from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, California and Texas. The top US destinations for loads originating in Canada were New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, California and Washington.