Truck Tonnage Rises 3.1% in September, ATA Reports
Truck tonnage rose 3.1% in September, American Trucking Associations reported, signaling further expansion in a freight market where growth patterns have been uneven this year.
The trade group’s advanced seasonally adjusted index reached 135.1 last month, showing year-over-year growth that exceeded August’s 2.1% improvement. On a sequential basis, tonnage gained 0.9% from August of this year.
“The see-saw pattern in truck freight tonnage continued again in September, except that the gain didn’t fully wipe out August’s decline” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said. “However, over the last few months, tonnage has snapped back from softness this past spring and early summer, and is approaching the record high.”
The all-time high for the index was 135.8, set in January. Tonnage growth continued at a slower pace as 2015 unfolded as industrial production, a key driver of freight volume, has weakened.
“I remain concerned about the high level of inventories throughout the supply chain,” Costello added. “We recently learned that inventories throughout the supply chain and relative to sales rose slightly in August, which is not a good sign. This could have a negative impact on truck freight volumes over the next few months.”
With the latest increase, tonnage has now topped the year-earlier period for 31 straight months. For the year to date, tonnage is up 3.3%.
ATA’s not seasonally adjusted index ended September at 138.9, or 1.4% above August and 2.3% better than September of last year.
