The American Trucking Associations' (ATA) advance seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index declined 0.2 percent in August after falling a revised 0.8 percent in July 2011 (compared to the 1.3 percent decrease the ATA reported in August). The latest drop put the SA index at 114.4 (2000=100) in August, down from the July level of 114.6.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 123.8 in August, which was 10.9 percent above the previous month.
However, compared with August 2010, SA tonnage was up a solid 5.2 percent. In July, the tonnage index was 4.5 percent above a year earlier.
"Freight has been going sideways for much of this year, but it isn't falling significantly either, which suggests the US economy just might skirt another recession," ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said.
"In part, this is due to less industry supply," Costello continued. "The number of trucks operated by the truckload industry is still down about 12 percent from the height in late 2006, yet tonnage levels are about the same as in late 2006. Additionally, most carriers are finding it very difficult to hire new truck drivers, which mean they can't add too many trucks."