ATA: Truck tonnage index dips 0.9% in November

The seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index for November 2015 equaled 134.3, down from 135.5 in October but up 0.2 percent from November 2014, according to the American Trucking Associations.    Domestic truck tonnage fell 0.9 percent in November, following a 1.8 percent increase during the previous month, according to the American Trucking Association’s advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.
   The seasonally adjusted index equaled 134.3 for the month, down from 135.5 in October but up 0.2 percent from November 2014. ATA noted November’s figures were just 1.1 percent below the index’s all-time high reading of 135.8 in January 2015.
   Through the first nine months of 2015, truck tonnage is up 2.7 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 129.0 in November, down 7.6 percent from October.
   The November reading was good news for the trucking industry, but there is still cause for concern, ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a statement.
   “Tonnage gave back half of the gain in October highlighting weakness in factory output and new fracking activity, as well as a glut of inventories throughout the supply chain” said Costello. “With year-over-year gains averaging just 1.2 percent over the last three months, there has been a clear deceleration in truck tonnage.
   “Looking ahead, I remain concerned about the high level of inventories throughout the supply chain. We recently learned that inventories throughout the supply chain and relative to sales rose in October. This will have a negative impact on truck freight volumes over the next few months,” he added.