ATA: Truck tonnage index drops 0.9% in August

The seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index for August 2015 equaled 134.2, a year-over-year increase of 2.1 percent, according to the American Trucking Associations.    Domestic truck tonnage fell 0.9 percent in August, following a revised increase of 3.1 percent during the previous month, according to the American Trucking Association’s advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index. ATA had previously reported a 2.8 percent increase in the index for the month of July.  
   The seasonally adjusted index equaled 134.2 in August, an improvement of 2.1 percent from August 2014. For the first eight months of 2015, tonnage was up 3.3 percent from the same period in 2014.
   The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage hauled by fleets prior to any seasonal adjustment, equaled 137 in August, down 0.5 percent from July.
   August’s reading was hindered by soft housing starts and falling factory output, ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a statement.
   “As I said last month, I remain concerned about the high level of inventories throughout the supply chain. This could have a negative impact on truck freight volumes over the next few months,” Costello said.