ATA’s June truck tonnage sees slight decrease

After trending down in May, June truck tonnage readings remained at similar levels, 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 June—at 111.6 (2015=100)—fell 1.5%, from May to June, after a 1% May decline, to 113.3.  

On an annual basis, June’s SA tonnage reading saw a 0.5% increase, following a 3.3% annual decline in May. And on a year-to-date basis through June, SA tonnage is up 0.3%.

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 June, came in at 116.2 (2015=100), topping May’s 113.4 by 2.4%. ATA noted that the For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight, as opposed to spot market freight.

“Tonnage has definitely flattened out, on average, over the last six to nine months,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello in a statement. “The good news is that it remains slightly above 2020 levels. Supply chain issues are likely putting some downward pressure on tonnage. But it is also likely that tonnage isn’t growing as much as it could because of industry-specific supply constraints. This index is dominated by contract freight, and the for-hire truckload carriers have seen their tractor counts fall because they are having difficulty finding qualified drivers. It is difficult to move more tonnage with less equipment, which is why we are seeing strong volumes in the spot market as shippers scramble to get loads moved.” 

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.”

As for some good news, Tucker pointed out that there is some decent driver hiring momentum occurring, which he described as a “sigh of relief” for larger fleets, as driver applications turned positive for the first time in a long time, up 13% in June.