American Trucking Associations’ seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index for September declined 2.3% from a year ago, ATA said.
The downturn followed a 0.9% year-over-year gain in August, and the September index was up 1.5% measured from the previous month, ATA said late Thursday.
The index’s reading was 111.6. Year to date, the truck tonnage index was 2.2% lower than the same time last year.
The not seasonally adjusted index fell 10.6% from August, to 107.4, ATA said.
ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said the reading points to continued softness in the trucking industry, despite the month-to-month increase. Although the 1.5% gain was the biggest monthly increase since February, Costello noted that he expects tonnage to remain choppy in the foreseeable future, a trend that began several months ago.
“Nearly all economic indicators suggest continued sluggishness for the trucking industry in the near term,” Costello said. “September’s reading points to a lackluster 2007 fall freight season, which traditionally starts in mid- to late August and peaks in October. We are sticking with our economic forecasts that point to below trend growth for the overall economy and truck tonnage.”
ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.
