American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 1.9% in July 2018 after decreasing 0.5% in June. In July, the index equaled 115 (2015=100), up from 112.8 in June.
ATA revised the June decline from the originally reported 0.4% to 0.5%.
Compared with July 2017, the SA index jumped 8.6%, up from June’s 7.7% year-over-year increase. Year-to-date, compared with the same period in 2017, tonnage advanced 8%, far outpacing the annual gain of 3.8% in 2017.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 114.6 in July, which was 1.2% below the previous month (116.1).
“Truck freight remained very strong in July when accounting for normal seasonality,” said Bob Costello, ATA chief economist. “Both the month-to-month and year-over-year gains were the largest in three months. This robust growth stems from solid manufacturing, retail sales and construction activity. The industry’s biggest challenge isn’t finding enough freight, but recruiting and retaining quality drivers.”
Trucking serves as a barometer of the US economy, representing 70.2% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 10.77 billion tons of freight in 2017. Motor carriers collected $700.1 billion, or 79.3% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.
