July trucks tonnage saw a mild decline, according to data issued today by the American Trucking Associations (ATA).
ATA reported that trucking tonnage fell 1% in July, following a 1.5% June gain, in its advanced seasonally-adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.
ATA reported that its July Seasonally Adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index reading, at 113.5 (2015=100), fell 1.2%, from June’s 114.7 reading (which was revised from an original reading of 114.7), and was off 0.5% annually, steeper than June’s 1.2% annual decline. On a year-to-date basis, ATA said the index is up 1.4%, driven by what it called robust annual gains from February through April.
The ATA’s not seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by fleets before any seasonal adjustment and the metric ATA says fleets should benchmark their levels with, came in at 117 in July, trailing June’s 118 by 0.9%.
“Tonnage levels have been choppy recently, and this trend was reflected in July’s decline,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Aside from a couple pockets of strength, including the boom in data center construction for AI, freight has been lackluster. It is also true that the industry is seeing a recovery, but that is nearly all due to excess capacity leaving the market.”
