Truck tonnage sees July decreases, reports ATA

Truck tonnage readings trended down in July, according to data issued this week by the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

The ATA’s advanced Seasonally Adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index for July—at 109.8 (2015=100)—was down 1.2%, following a 2% June decline (downwardly revised from an original reading of -1.5%), which came in at 111.1.  

On an annual basis, July’s SA tonnage reading dropped 2.9%, marking its first annual decline going back to March, following a flat June reading. And, on a year-to-date basis through July, it is off 0.2%.

The ATA’s not seasonally-adjusted (NSA) index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by fleets before any seasonal adjustment and the metric ATA says fleets should benchmark their levels with, for July, was 111.9, trailing June’s 115.6 reading by 3.2%. ATA noted that the For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight, as opposed to spot market freight.

“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 in a statement. “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.”

As previously reported, that was echoed by Jeff Tucker, president of Haddonfield, N.J.-based Tucker Worldwide, the nation’s oldest freight brokerage.

Tucker cited data from Morgan Stanley showing how, in 2021, things have flirted with, and far exceeded the worst capacity crisis in history, which was in 2018.

“For several of the last few weeks and months, we have been well in excess of the of the worst capacity crisis in history for most of the last year,” said Tucker. “We have been spending time in that stratosphere, so to speak.”