Trucking news: ATA reports that October tonnage is down 0.3 percent

Staff -- Logistics Management, 11/28/2007

ARLINGTON, Va.—The American Trucking Associations (ATA) reported yesterday that its seasonally-adjusted for-hire Truck Tonnage index was down 0.3 percent in October after being up 1.5 percent in September. The ATA said in a statement that on a seasonally adjusted basis, the tonnage index declined to 110.9 (2000 = 100) in October. And it added on a year-to-date basis, the tonnage index was down 2.2 percent this year compared to the first ten months of 2006. If tonnage continues to inch down over the remaining two months of this year, this year’s tonnage index could represent the largest annual decline since 2000 when it fell 5.2 percent, according to the ATA. It added that the 2006 index dropped 1.7 percent. ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a statement that October’s decline represents continued softness in the market. Going forward, Costello added that he expects freight levels to stay soft until the second half of 2008. “We anticipate truck freight volumes to be lackluster for the next couple of quarters,” said Costello in a statement. “There is nothing on the horizon that points to an acceleration in truck freight.” Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy because it represents nearly 70 percent of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods, according to the ATA. And it also said that in 2006, trucks hauled 10.7 billion tons of freight, and motor carriers collected $645.6 billion , or 83.8 percent of total revenue earned by all transport modes.

Talkback

We would love your feedback!

Post a comment

» VIEW ALL TALKBACK THREADS

Related Content

• Topics
• Author

Related Content

There are no other articles related to this article.

By This Author

There are no other articles written by this author.

Sponsored Links