ATA Truck Tonnage Index Rose 0.2% in August

“After years of paying the price for an inefficient credentialing system, relief is finally within sight for truck drivers and other essential transportation workers who keep our supply chain running. The Senate’s passage of the Transportation Security Screening Modernization Act is a victory for commonsense and puts us on the verge of eliminating unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles imposed by the federal government that waste time and money,” said ATA President & CEO Chris Spear. “By streamlining the administration of these important programs, this bipartisan legislation will make it easier and less costly for hardworking Americans to obtain the credentials they need to do their jobs. We commend the Members of Congress who authored this bipartisan bill to support truckers, and we look forward to working with them to ensure this bill becomes law by the end of this year.”

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 1.2% in July after falling 2% in June. In July, the index equaled 109.8 (2015=100) compared with 111.1 in June. “Softness in tonnage over the last few months is due more to supply constraints, rather than a big drop in freight volumes,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Not only are there broader supply chain issues, like semiconductors, holding tonnage back, but there are also industry specific difficulties, including the driver shortage and lack of equipment. For-hire truckload carriers are operating fewer trucks than a year earlier. It is difficult to haul significantly more freight with fewer trucks and drivers. “In addition to these supply issues, retail sales and housing starts, both large drivers of truck freight, retreated in July, although both rose on a year-over-year basis,” he said. June’s reading was revised down to -2% from our July 20 press release. Compared with July 2020, the SA index fell 2.9%, which was the first year-over-year drop since March. In June, the index was flat from a year earlier. Year-to-date, compared with the same seven months in 2020, tonnage is down 0.2%.

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