Truck Tonnage Rises 7.2% in May from a Year Ago
Truck tonnage rose 7.2% in May from a year ago, the sixth straight year-over-year increase, American Trucking Associations said Friday.
But tonnage dipped 0.6% in May from April, marking the first month-to-month decline since February, ATA said in its monthly seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index.
The year-to-year gain followed a 9.5% rise in April that was the biggest increase in more than five years. (Click here for previous story.)
The not seasonally adjusted index — the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment — was 108.3 in May, down 2.8% from April.
ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said while tonnage will have its ups and downs, the trend continues in the right direction.
“Despite the month-to-month drop in May, the trend line is still solid,” he said in a statement. “There is no way that freight can increase every month, and we should expect periodic decreases.
“This doesn’t take away from the fact that freight volumes are quite good, especially considering the reduction in truck supply over the last couple of years,” he said.
ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.
