The Cass Freight Index, which measures shipments from trucking and other transport modes, fell 2.6% year-over-year in July, registering the 17th consecutive decline on that basis.
The report, which said there was no change on a month-to-month basis from June, cited the continuing shift away from an energy-driven, five-year industrial growth spurt that ended early last year toward a reluctant consumer who has yet to pick up the slack.
“We have been patiently waiting for the consumer to take the baton of leadership in economic growth,” the report, said citing past purchase-driven recoveries by Americans. “But instead of following the playbook, most U.S. consumers have been choosing to pay down debt and increase their savings rate. Simply put, the consumer has not yet picked up where the industrial economy left off.”
The report also said that the inability to work down inventory has paired with the inconsistent overall economic volatility to hold back shipment volume growth. Avondale Partners analyst Donald Broughton wrote the commentary to accompany the index based on freight bills processed by the affiliate of a St. Louis bank.
Trucking represents the majority of shipments counted in those freight bills.
