Author: Devops Admin

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

Trucking remains the dominant U.S. mode of freight transportation, hauling 69.1% of freight last year totaling 9.7 billion tons, with both figures up from a year earlier, American Trucking Associations reported May 12.

Trucking’s percentage was up from 2012’s total of 68.7%, and tonnage rose from 9.4 billion tons a year earlier, according to ATA’s latest “American Trucking Trends.”

The trucking industry collected 81.2% of total U.S. freight revenue last year, up from 80.7% in 2012, ATA said.

“This report shows once again what a critical role trucking plays in the U.S. economy,” ATA President Bill Graves said. “Trucking continues to move the most, and most valuable, freight in the United States despite the challenges of congestion, regulations and crumbling infrastructure.”
“It is fitting this report is being released at the start of Infrastructure Week,” Graves added. “Our industry’s growth in the face of continued road and bridge deterioration has been amazing, but it is time for our elected leaders to do their part to ensure that the highways we use to move America’s goods safely and efficiently are in good condition.”

The report also said that:

• Trucks move the majority of all North American Free Trade Agreement freight, hauling 55.4% of trade with Canada and 65.4% of with Mexico.
• Trucking employed more than 7 million people in 2013.
• The trucking industry paid $37.8 billion in state and federal highway user fees last year.

The report “is an annual almanac, a snapshot, of what the trucking industry, and really what the freight economy, looks like,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said. “These numbers tell us what is happening in trucking, and that’s important for industry leaders, suppliers and policymakers.”

By Transport Topics, 5/12/14