American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 0.7% in May after falling 0.6% in April. In May, the index equaled 113.7 compared with 114.5 in April.

“Tonnage, despite falling slightly over the last two months, remains well above the lows of last year,” Bob Costello, ATA chief economist, said. “This is no small deal considering that truck tonnage fell significantly less than many other indicators during the depths of the pandemic in the spring of 2020.”

April’s reading was revised down slightly to -0.6% since ATA’s initial May 18 estimate. Compared with May 2020, the SA index rose 3.7%, which was preceded by a 6.7% y/y jump in April. Year-to-date, compared with the same five months in 2020, tonnage is up 0.4%.

“One freight segment that is helping tonnage is gasoline as demand for travel, both commuting and vacation related, picks up,” Costello added. “I’m also expecting retail freight to remain robust as inventories are at historic lows. As retail stocks are rebuilt, it will boost freight. As has been the case for some time, trucking’s biggest challenges are not on the demand side, but on the supply side, including difficulty finding qualified drivers.”