July truck tonnage posts 5.1% annual gain

From Transport Topics.

Truck tonnage in July rose 5.1% year-over-year but slipped 1.1% when measured on a sequential monthly basis, according to American Trucking Associations.

The ATA For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 116.2 compared with 117.5 in June.

Through the first seven months of 2022, tonnage is up 3.4% compared with year-ago levels, ATA said Aug. 23. The July year-over-year result marks the 11th consecutive month of annual gains, the federation said.

“Tonnage declined sequentially in July for only the second time during the last 12 months,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “While tonnage is much stronger than a year ago, the monthly gains have moderated as the year has gone on. The combination of softer consumption of goods, home construction falling and slower manufacturing activity are the main reasons.”

In calculating the advanced seasonally adjusted index, 100 represents the year 2015.

ATA’s For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight. Trucking represents 72.5% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods, according to ATA.

Trucks hauled 10.23 billion tons of freight in 2020. Motor carriers collected $732.3 billion, or 80.4% of total revenue earned by all transport modes, it said.

Another index that measures the health of freight transportation, the Logistics Managers’ Index, reads in at 60.7 in July, down from the red-hot 74.5 in the same month in 2021, and declining 4.3 points from June’s reading of 65.0. The LMI’s authors said the July number is the lowest since May 2020 and the second consecutive month where it was below the all-time industry average of 65.3.

However, the logistics industry is still expanding, albeit at a slower pace. Any reading above 50 is considered a positive number and below 50 indicates a contraction. In March the LMI reached its all-time high of 76.2.

One of the LMI’s authors, Arizona State University business professor Dale Rogers, said the U.S. economy and the trucking industry remain relatively strong as they continue to battle potential recessionary headwinds.

See the complete article online at Transport Topics.