Truck Tonnage Climbs 7.4 Percent in July

Truck tonnage rose 7.4 percent in July, the eighth consecutive month of year-to-year increase, the American Trucking Associations reported.

Year-to-date tonnage is 6.7 percent higher than the corresponding period last year, the ATA said in its monthly seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index.

July’s level was up 1.5 percent from June. June’s total was 1.6 percent below May’s number, according to the ATA’s revised figures, but was up 7.6 percent from June 2009.

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The association’s seasonally adjusted index for July posted a reading of 110, with the year 2000 representing a baseline reading of 100.

The not seasonally adjusted index — representing the change in tonnage actually hauled by fleets before seasonal adjustments — was 109.9 in July, down 5 percent from June.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said the data did not change the outlook for subdued tonnage growth in the months ahead.

“The economy is slowing and truck freight tonnage has essentially gone sideways since April,” he said in a statement. He said tonnage will post moderate gains on average for the second half of this year.

“After accounting for the reduction in supply over the last few years, even small gains in tonnage will have a larger impact on the industry than in [the] past,” Costello said.

The ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.

-- Contact Joseph Bonney at jbonney@joc.com.