AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report for Friday, 6/08/18

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.790589; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.149829; American Dollar to Euro = 1.174149; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.009169; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.055936.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index grew 1.8% in August after rising 0.4% in July. In August, the index equaled 115.8 (2015=100) compared with 113.8 in July. “August tonnage levels rose to the highest level since February 2023,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Not only does the latest robust gain show freight levels are coming off the bottom, but so does the sequential pattern over the last eight months. Starting earlier this year, every time tonnage falls, it is higher than the previous low. For me, this month-to-month pattern is more important than looking at the year-over-year percent changes since we are at an inflection point in the freight market.” July’s increase was revised up from our August 20 press release. Compared with August 2023, the index increased 0.7%, just the second year-over-year gain in the last eighteen months (the other being in May 2024).

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 0.3% in April after increasing 2.3% in March. In April, the index equaled 114.7 (2015=100) compared with 115.1 in March. “After a revised increase in March of 2.3%, the April index declined just slightly,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “The outlook is solid for tonnage going forward as the country approaches pre-pandemic levels of activity, with strong economic growth in key areas for trucking – including retail, home construction and even manufacturing. “Additionally, the index increased on a year-over-year basis for the first time since March 2020. Part of the reason for the gain was due to an easy comparison with when the index fell significantly in April 2020,” he said. “But I’m expecting increases, albeit smaller than April’s, on a year-over-year basis going forward. Trucking’s biggest challenges are not on the demand side, but on the supply side, including difficulty finding qualified drivers.”