June Truck Tonnage Index Just Beats Yearly Comparison

American Trucking Associations advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 1.1% in June but was up in year-over-year comparisons.

After falling by 4% in May, the June Index only dropped slightly to a reading of 115.2 compared to 116.5 in May. Compared with June 2018, the seasonally adjusted index increased 1.5%, the smallest year-over-year gain since April 2017.

“Tonnage continues to show resilience as it posted the twenty-sixth year-over-year increase despite falling for the second straight month sequentially,” said Bob Costello, ATA chief economist.

Without seasonal adjustment, representing the change in tonnage actually hauled by fleets for the month, the June index equaled 117.6, 3.3% below May’s level.

“The year-over-year gain was the smallest over the past two years, but the level of freight remains quite high,” said Costello. “Tonnage is outperforming other trucking metrics as heavy freight sectors, like tank truck, are witnessing better freight levels than sectors like dry van, which has a lower average weight per load.”