Tonnage Falls 0.4% in October

The American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) advanced seasonally adjusted truck tonnage index fell 0.4% to 157.0 in October, after increasing a revised 0.3% in September.

“October is typically a strong month, so this October’s weakness came as a surprise, especially on a year-over-year basis,” stated ATA chief economist Bob Costello, noting that there were two fewer working days this October than in 2003.

“While this may not impact the truckload results much, it has a significant impact on the amount of freight the less-than-truckload sector hauled this October…Still, truck volumes are decelerating as the economy appears to be doing the same,” said Costello.