Truck Tonnage Eased in June

ARLINGTON - Jul 22/14 - SNS -- cargo hauled by members of the American Trucking Association declined in June on both a seasonally adjusted and raw basis.

The seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index declined 0.8% in June, following a revised 0.9% gain the previous month. In June, the index equaled 128.6 (2000=100) versus 129.6 in May. The index is off 1.9% from the all-time high in November 2013 (131.0).

Compared with June 2013, the SA index increased 2.3%, down from May's 3.3% year-over-year gain. This year-over-year increase was the second smallest in 2014, following a 1% gain in January. Year-to-date, compared with the same period last year, tonnage is up 2.8%.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 132.3 in June which was 0.5% below the previous month (132.9).

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello noted, "The second quarter was much better than the first quarter. Tonnage increased 2.3% from the first quarter, which was the largest quarter to quarter gain since the first quarter in 2013. Compared with the second quarter in 2013, tonnage increased 3.2%, a percentage point better than the first quarter year-over-year increase."