The American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) Truck Tonnage Index declined 0.8 per cent in June. Year-to-date, however, it is still up 2.8 per cent.
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“June was one of those months where the data doesn’t quite match up with the anecdotal reports from fleets,” said ATA Chief Economist, Bob Costello. “We had heard the freight volumes were good.”
Costello added that tonnage had increased for four consecutive months prior to June, totalling 4.4 per cent.
“Despite the small reprieve in June, the second quarter was much better than the first quarter,” he said. “Tonnage increased 2.3 per cent from the first quarter, which was the largest quarter-to-quarter gain since the first quarter in 2013.”
Overall, the ATA is still positive about the future outlook of the US trucking industry. In its ‘US Freight Transportation Forecast’ the Association predicts that freight tonnage will grow almost 24 per cent from 2013 to 2025 and freight revenue will grow 72 per cent.
“We continue to see growth for the entire freight economy – but we also see that trucking will maintain its position as the nation’s dominant mode of freight transportation,” Costello commented.