The Arlington, Virginia-based American Trucking Association (ATA) reported Tuesday that its advance seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage index rose 2.8 percent in June after falling 2 percent in May. The index in June reached the highest level since January 2011.
Year-on-year, the jump was even more dramatic as SA tonnage jumped 6.8 percent from June 2010. In May, the tonnage index was 3 percent above a year earlier.
Moving forward, ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said, "After growing 5.5 percent in the first half of the year from the same period last year, the strength of truck tonnage in the second half will depend greatly on what manufacturing output does. If manufacturing continues to grow stronger than GDP, I fully expect truck freight to do the same."