Truck Tonnage Decline Slows in July
U.S. truck tonnage fell 10.4% in July from the same month last year, the best year-to-year showing since February, American Trucking Associations said.
ATA’s seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index improved 2.1% in July from June, while June’s 13.6% year-over-year drop had been the largest year-over-year decrease of the current cycle.
The index fell to a reading of 101.9, with the year 2000 as the base year at 100. The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, was 106.3 in July, down 0.9% from June.
Tonnage will continue to be choppy in the months ahead, but that is not necessarily a bad thing, said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello.
“It is not unusual for an economic indicator to become volatile before changing direction,” Costello said in a statement, adding that he is hopeful tonnage has finally hit bottom as it has been bouncing around a seven-year low over the past few months.
“While I am optimistic that the worst is behind us, I don’t see anything on the economic horizon that suggests freight tonnage is about to rise significantly or consistently,” he cautioned, but added that “even small gains are better than the February 2008 through April 2009 cumulative tonnage reduction of 15.5%.”
ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.
