September Truck Tonnage Rises 5.1%
Truck tonnage rose 5.1% in September, the 10th straight year-over-year increase, American Trucking Associations said Tuesday.
The upturn put the index at a reading of 108.7, with the year 2000 a baseline reading of 100, ATA said in its monthly seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index.
Tonnage is up 6.1% for the year compared with the same period in 2009, the group reported.
September tonnage improved 1.7% from August, turning around a previously reported 2.7% July-to-August decline that had been the biggest monthly drop in more than a year. ATA revised that decline to a 2.8% downturn.
ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said that truck tonnage over the last few months fits with an economy that is growing very slowly.
“While I am glad to report that tonnage grew in September, the fact remains that truck freight volumes leveled off over the summer and early autumn,” he said in a statement.
Costello said that this month, the trucking industry is significantly smaller than it was prior to the recession, but as a result is better equipped to deal with slower-than-normal tonnage growth.
ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.
