ATA: Truck tonnage index slips 1.4% in January

The seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index for January 2016 equaled 132.8, down from 134.7 in December but flat compared with January 2015, according to the American Trucking Associations.    Domestic truck tonnage fell 1.4 in January 2016, following a 1 percent bump in December, according to the American Trucking Association’s advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.
   The seasonally adjusted index equaled 132.8 for the month, down from 134.7 in December but flat compared with January 2015.
   ATA noted year-over-year growth in January was down from December’s 0.8 percent gain. Truck tonnage increased 2.6 percent overall in 2015 compared with the previous year.
   The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage hauled by fleets prior to any seasonal adjustment, equaled 127.1 in January, down 5.2 percent from December.
   “Clearly, 2016 started soft for truck tonnage,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a statement. “There was a deceleration in freight volumes during the second half of 2015 which continued into the first month of 2016.
   “The winter storms that hit in January likely suppressed volumes some, but by falling 1.4%, I doubt tonnage would have been positive without the storms. So, that tells me that the inventory situation continues to weigh on truck freight volumes,” he added. “The sooner the supply chain cleans out the excess stocks, the better for trucking.”