Tonnage is up, the American Trucking Associations’(ATA) reported this week, and while the increase may seem positive on the surface, it may only be a reflection of certain sectors that produce heavier loads.
After falling 0.6% in July, ATA's advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index saw an increase of 1.4% in August, making it the largest gain since May of this year.
Compared with August 2012, the index is up 6.9%, that being the largest year-over-year gain since December 2011, ATA noted. Year-to-date, the index is up a respectable 5 percent.
“The improvement corresponds with a solid gain in manufacturing output during August reported by the Federal Reserve last week," said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello.
“However, tonnage’s strength in recent months, and really through 2013, is probably overstating the robustness of the economy and trucking generally,” Costello said. “It just so happens that the sectors of the economy that are growing the fastest — in housing starts, auto production, and energy output, primarily through hydraulic fracturing —produce heavier than average freight, leading to accelerated growth in tonnage relative to shipments or loads.
“Truckload industry loads have accelerated the last few months, but are flat for the year, while less-than-truckload shipments are up less than 1.5% in 2013,” Costello noted.
The not-seasonally adjusted index was 1.5% above July.
