Author: Sunteck

Truck tonnage in October rose to the second-highest level on record and climbed 4.5% from a year ago, American Trucking Associations reported.

ATA’s advanced seasonally adjusted for-hire index rose to 132.1, just below the record reading of 132.6 reported in August.

Last month’s gain tied August for the strongest year-over-year growth recorded this year. It followed a 2.9% gain in September that was revised down from an originally reported 3.7% increase.

On a sequential basis, last month’s reading rose 0.5% from September.

“Tonnage made a nice comeback after declining in September,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in the Nov. 18 report. “The gain fits with the increases in retail sales and factory output during October, as well as with good anecdotal reports about the fall freight season.”

Costello described October’s reading as a “good sign” for the fourth quarter and predicted a “solid” fall freight season.

Year-to-date, tonnage has risen 3.2% compared with the first 10 months of 2013.

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

Transport Topics 11/18/14

Truck tonnage held at an all-time high in September, rising 3.7% from a year ago and capping the highest quarter on record, American Trucking Associations reported.

ATA’s advanced seasonally adjusted for-hire index held at 132.6, matching August, which had posted a 4.5% year-over-year gain. The trucking group uses the year 2000 as a 100-reading baseline.

Third-quarter tonnage “jumped 2.4% from the second quarter and surged 4% from the same period last year” in posting the highest quarterly average ever, ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said.

“September [economic] data was a mixed bag, with retail sales falling while factory output increased nicely,” Costello said. “As a result, I’m not too surprised that truck tonnage split both of those readings and [was] unchanged.”

Tonnage is up 3.2% year to date compared with a year ago, up slightly from the comparable 3.1% figure through August.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents tonnage actually hauled by fleets before seasonal adjustments, was 135.8, up 1.7% from August.

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

Transport Topics 10/21/14

August truck tonnage jumped 4.5% year-over-year to a record high, American Trucking Associations reported Sept. 23.

ATA’s advanced seasonally adjusted for-hire index rose to 132.6 — up 1.6% from July and topping the previous record of 131 set in November. ATA uses the year 2000 as a 100-reading baseline.

The year-over-year jump, the highest so far in 2014, followed a 3.7% July gain that originally was reported as a 3.6% increase.

“After a strong July, factory production and housing starts fell in August on a month-to-month basis,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said. “Truck tonnage actually did the opposite. Not only did it increase, it accelerated.”

Tonnage is up 3.1% in the past two months and has surged 6.8% since falling to a recent low in January, Costello said.
“I’m optimistic about the second half of the year for the economy, which means truck tonnage should do well too,” he added.

Year-to-date tonnage is up 3.1% from the comparable 2.9% figure through July.

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

Transport Topics 9/26/14

Truck tonnage rose 3.6% last month over July of last year, helped by the improving pace of factory orders and new home construction, American Trucking Associations reported.

The trade group said its advanced seasonally adjusted index reached 130.2, an increase of 1.3% over June, and moved closer to the all-time record of 131.0 set in November. The improvement in July followed a 0.8% decline in June, compared with May.

“The solid tonnage number in July fits with the strong factory output reading and a jump in housing starts for the same month,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said. “I continue to expect moderate, but good, tonnage growth for the rest of the year.”

Factory output in July was the strongest in 2½ years, rising 1.1%, the Federal Reserve reported Aug.15, and a 16% rise in housing starts was announced Aug. 19 by the Commerce Department.

“After a surprising decrease in June, tonnage really snapped back in July,” he said. “This gain fits more with the anecdotal reports we are hearing from motor carriers that freight volumes are good.”

The year-to-date tonnage increase over the first seven months of the year is 2.9%. The pace of July’s increase was the fastest in three months.

By Transport Topics 8/19/14

American Trucking Associations’ seasonally adjusted truck tonnage index rose 2.3% on a year-over-year basis last month, capping a second quarter when freight levels improved from earlier in 2014, the federation reported.

The index, on a sequential basis, was down 0.8% in June from May and stands at 128.6.

“Despite the small reprieve in June, the second quarter was much better than the first quarter,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a statement.

ATA reported that second-quarter tonnage rose 3.2% over 2013, 1 percentage point faster than the first quarter.

The monthly tonnage record was set in November at 131.0. The pace of tonnage growth has slipped since then, and ATA said the 2.3% year-over-year improvement was the second-smallest increase this year, topping only January.

ATA’s statement also noted a seeming anomaly.

“June was one of those months where the data doesn’t quite match up with the anecdotal reports from fleets,” Costello said. “We had heard the freight volumes were good.”

The May tonnage index was revised downward from 129.7, when reported on an advanced basis, to 129.6.

By Transport Topics 7/28/14