July Truck Tonnage Falls 3.7%
American Trucking Associations’ July for-hire truck tonnage index fell 3.7% from the same month a year ago but saw the first month-to-month increase since March, ATA said Monday.
The downturn followed June’s 3.4% year-over-year decline. Year to date, the tonnage index is 2.6% below last year, ATA said.
The index’s reading of 110.9 was the highest since April. The not seasonally adjusted index fell 2.7% from June, to 111.
ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said July’s reading points to continued softness in the trucking industry, specifically as it relates to the weight of goods shipped. But he said that other measures of trucking volumes were not as lackluster.
The number of for-hire loads, for example, increased 0.4% during the first half of the year, on a year-to-year basis, he said.
“The weakness in the residential construction market continues to have a disproportionately larger impact on truck tonnage than the number of loads transported,” Costello said.
“Construction freight on average weighs more than general freight. As a result, the weakness in the construction market is having a bigger impact on truck tonnage,” he said.
ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.
