TORONTO, Ont. – Canadian spot market load volumes were down slightly in early October, according to Loadlink Technologies, but the overall outlook remains positive.

A strong end to September and the Canadian Thanksgiving holiday are partly to blame for the slower start to October. The last week of September reflected the highest freight totals since prior to the pandemic, according to Loadlink data, and the last day of the month had the highest single-day volumes in more than six months.

Daily averages in early October were down about 6% compared to the final week of September. Loadlink has since seen an uptick in October volumes, and expects volumes to remain relatively flat or to show slight growth this month.

Overall cross-border activity declined from the end of September into the first week of October, but growth was seen in the Arizona-Ontario, Alberta-Washington, and Arkansas-Ontario lanes.

The best-performing domestic lanes originated in central and western Canada, with outbound freight from Ontario and Quebec performing poorly, possibly due to rising Covid cases in those provinces.

Top-performing domestic lanes were Manitoba-B.C., Saskatchewan-Alberta, and Manitoba-Ontario.

The truck-to-load ratio in early October was about 4% higher than September, and up 12% compared to the final week of September.