ATA August tonnage readings are mixed
August truck tonnage volumes were mixed, according to data issued this week by the American Trucking Associations (ATA).
The ATA’s advanced Seasonally Adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, for August, came in at 115.3 (2015=100), for a 0.2% gain over July. July saw a 1.1% sequential gain, which was revised from an initial reading of 112.9, for a 0.8% decrease, reported by ATA on August 22 and a 0.3% June decline, which registered a 113.8 reading.
On an annual basis, the August SA reading fell 2.3%, marking the sixth consecutive annual decline, following July’s 1.2% annual decline, which was revised from an initial reading of a 3% decline.
The ATA’s not seasonally-adjusted (NSA) 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, saw a 120.7 reading in August, up 6.3% compared to July’s 113.6 reading, which was upwardly revised from an initial 111.5 reading last month.
ATA bases its NSA tonnage reading on a baseline with 100 representing 2015, adding that the For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight.
“The evidence is growing that tonnage hit bottom in April and continues its slow climb upwards,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello in a statement. “However, year-over-year comparisons remain difficult as tonnage peaked in September of last year. As a result, it is unlikely that tonnage turns positive compared with a year earlier for at least a month or two longer. Most recently, freight continues to be mixed, with consumer spending and factory output flat to down.”
