July truck tonnage sees slight decline, reports ATA

July truck tonnage data, which was issued earlier this week by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) saw a sequential decline and an annual gain.

The ATA’s advanced Seasonally Adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, for July, came in at 116.2 (2015=100), down 1.1% compared to June, which was preceded by a 2.7% May to June increase. That June gain was preceded by a 0.3% (downwardly revised from 0.5%) May increase. This was preceded by a 1.4% April decline, which was upwardly revised from an original reading of a 2% decrease. SA tonnage was up 1.8% in March.  

On an annual basis, July SA tonnage was up 5.1%, marking the 11th consecutive annual gain, according to ATA. This was below June’s 5.6% annual increase, with ATA noting that on a year-to-date basis through July, SA tonnage is up 3.4% annually.

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, was 115.5 in July, falling 5.2% below June’s 121.9 reading. ATA said its For-Hire Truck tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight rather than spot market freight.

“Tonnage declined sequentially in July for only the second time during the last twelve months. Despite the dip from June, tonnage remains at elevated levels and increased significantly from a year earlier,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello in a statement. “While tonnage is much stronger than a year ago, the monthly gains have moderated as the year has gone on. The combination of softer consumption of goods, home construction falling and slower manufacturing activity are the main reasons.”