Truck Tonnage Hits Smallest Drop of 2009

Truck tonnage declined in October, but it was the smallest drop in 2009, said the American Trucking Associations.

Compared with October 2008, seasonally adjusted tonnage fell 5.2 percent, which was the best year-over-year showing since November 2008. In September, the index was down 7.3 percent from a year earlier.

Trucks hauled more freight in October than in September, but on a seasonally adjusted basis, the industry declined slightly month to month, ATA said.

The ATA advance seasonally adjusted Truck Tonnage Index decreased 0.2 percent in October to 103.6 from the revised 103.8 in September, following a 0.3 percent contraction in September. The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 109.6 in October, up 1.6 percent from September, ATA said.

“Repeating what I said last month, the trucking industry should not be alarmed by the small decreases in September and October,” said Bob Costello, ATA chief economist. “The economy is behaving as expected, with starts and stops. This is being reflected in truck tonnage, as well as most economic indicators.”

“Since consumer spending and manufacturing are not surging, trucking shouldn’t expect robust growth either. However, both retail sales and manufacturing output are exhibiting mild upward trend lines, which is the path I expect truck freight to take,” Costello said.

Contact Thomas L. Gallagher at tgallagher@joc.com.