June Truck Tonnage Falls 13.6%

Truck tonnage decreased 13.6% in June compared with a year ago, American Trucking Associations said late Monday.

The decline in the for-hire seasonally adjusted truck tonnage index left tonnage at a reading of 99.8. The decrease surpassed May’ 11% year-over-year decline, ATA said.

June's drop was the largest year-over-year decline in the current cycle, ATA said.

The index fell 2.4% from May, but the decrease did not offset the 3.2% April to May gain.

Without accounting for seasonal adjustment, the index gained 5.2% from May, but the improvement was not enough to offset the 6.7% cumulative reduction from March and April.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said that tonnage will likely be “hoppy”in the coming months.

“While I am hopeful that the worst is behind us, I just don’t see anything on the economic horizon that suggests freight tonnage is about to rise significantly or consistently,” Costello said in a statement.

“The consumer is still facing too many headwinds, including employment losses, tight credit, and falling home values, to name a few, that will make it very difficult for household spending to jump in the near term,” he added.

ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.