ATA: Truck tonnage growth continues in January

The American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 2 percent in January 2018 compared with the previous month to a reading of 111.6.    Domestic truck tonnage growth continued in January 2018, rising 2 percent from the previous month and 8.8 percent year-over-year, according to the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.
   In January, the index equaled 111.6, up from 109.4 in December. ATA noted it has recently revised the seasonally adjusted index back five years as part of its annual revision, and re-indexed the seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted tonnage indexes to 2015 = 100 back to 1973.
   The 8.8 percent year-over-year growth during the month also outpaced December’s 7.5 percent year-over-year gain.
   For the full year in 2017, the index increased 3.8 percent compared with 2016.
   The ATA’s not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 106.9 in January, up 0.4 percent from the previous month’s reading of 106.5.
   “Last month’s gain in tonnage fit with the anecdotal reports we have been hearing from fleets – that freight was solid in what is typically a softer month,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “With the economy strong, the drivers of truck freight solid, and the inventory cycle in favor of motor carriers, I expect freight tonnage to remain robust in the months ahead.”