ATA: Truck tonnage index flat in July

The seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 138.5 in July 2017, up slightly from 138.4 in June, due to the mixed bag of high retail sales and low manufacturing production, said American Trucking Associations’ Chief Economist Bob Costello.    The American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index shows domestic truck tonnage increased 0.1 percent in July 2017, following a 4.4 percent drop during June.
   The seasonally adjusted index in July equaled 138.5, up from 138.4 in June. Compared to July 2016, the seasonally adjusted index rose 2.3 percent, the ATA said. Year-to-date, compared with the same seven months in 2016, the index is up 1.2 percent.
   The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 141 in July, down 2.2 percent from the previous month.
   “July’s small increase in truck tonnage fits with other mixed economic indicators,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Retail sales surprised to the upside, but manufacturing production and housing starts were down, so combined those likely caused a rather flat month in July for truck tonnage. With better economic growth in the second half of 2017, expect truck tonnage to continue increasing at a moderate pace on a year-over-year basis.”
   ATA also noted that it has revised its June drop in the index to a 4.4 percent decrease from the previously reported 4.3 percent decline.