ATA: Truck tonnage index falls 4.3% in June

The seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index stood at a reading of 138.5 in June, down 4.3 percent from the prior month’s reading of 144.7, according to the American Trucking Associations.    Domestic truck tonnage in June fell 4.3 percent from the previous month, following a revised 6.9 percent monthly gain in May, according to the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.
   The seasonally adjusted index equaled 138.5 in June, down from 144.7 in May.
   Compared to June 2016, the seasonally adjusted index inched up 1.3 percent.
   The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage hauled by fleets prior to any seasonal adjustment, equaled 144.3 in June, down 1 percent from 145.8 for May.
   “After such a large spike in May, it was not surprising to see the index give back some of those gains in June,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said. “However, looking back at the second quarter as a whole, tonnage was up 0.8 percent over the first quarter and 1.9 percent over the same quarter last year, so it was a solid three-month period.”