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ShareThisTruck Tonnage Index Fell 10.4 Percent in July
Double digit drop is best year-over-year showing since February
Tonnage actually hauled by trucks decreased in July, whether compared with June’s dismal contraction or with July of a year ago. But the decline is beginning to bottom out, according to the American Trucking Associations.
Compared with July 2008, seasonally adjusted tonnage fell 10.4 percent, according to ATA’s Truck Tonnage Index. That was the best year-over-year showing since February; it was 2.1 percent better than June’s seasonally adjusted index.
In June, tonnage contracted 13.6 percent before seasonal adjustment in the largest year-over-year decrease of the current cycle. In July, the index fell 0.9 percent from June before seasonal adjustment. Truck tonnage has been near its seven-year low for several months.
“It is not unusual for an economic indicator to become volatile before changing direction,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “While I am optimistic that the worst is behind us, I just don’t see anything on the economic horizon that suggests freight tonnage is about to rise significantly or consistently. Still, even small gains are better than the February 2008 through April 2009 cumulative tonnage reduction of 15.5 percent.”
Contact Thomas L. Gallagher at tgallagher@joc.com.
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Feb 12, 2012 4:11PM GMT
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Arlington, Va. — The American Trucking Associations’ advance seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index fell 2.2 percent in April, after plunging 4.5 percent in March. April marked the second sequential decrease. In April, the SA tonnage index equaled just 99.2 (2000 = 100), which is its lowest level since November 2001. The not seasonally adjusted (NSA) index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, was down 2.9 percent from March. In April, the NSA index equaled 101.6.Car Shipping also decrease in this month.