Truck Tonnage Index rallies with October resurgence

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 0.5% in October 2014 following a revised decline of 0.8% during the previous month. In October, the index equaled 132.1 (2000=100), which was the second-highest level on record after August 2014.

Compared with October 2013, the SA index increased 4.5%, up from September’s 2.9% year-over-year gain. Year-to-date, versus the same period in 2013, tonnage is up 3.2%. The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 140.4 in September , which was 4.3% above the previous month (134.6). “Tonnage made a nice comeback after declining in September,” said Bob Costello, ATA chief economist. “The gain fits with the increases in retail sales and factory output during October, as well as with good anecdotal reports about the fall freight season. “The solid month-to-month gain, coupled with the acceleration in the year-over-year growth rate, is a good sign for the fourth quarter,” Costello said. “In addition, I’m expecting a solid fall freight season as holiday sales are forecasted to see the largest increase since 2011.” Trucking serves as a barometer of the US economy, representing 69.1% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 9.7 billion tons of freight in 2013. Motor carriers collected $681.7 billion, or 81.2% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.