ATA: Truck tonnage index gains 0.7% in September

The seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index for September 2015 equaled 135.1, a year-over-year increase of 3.1 percent, according to the American Trucking Associations.    Domestic truck tonnage grew 0.7 percent in September, following a 0.9 percent decrease during the previous month, according to the American Trucking Association’s advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.
   The seasonally adjusted index equaled 135.1 in September, an improvement of 3.1 percent from September 2014. August’s figures represented a 2.1 percent year-over-year increase.
   Through the first nine months of 2015, tonnage is up 3.3 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 138.9 in September, up 1.4 from August.
   The September reading was good news for the trucking industry, but there is still cause for concern, ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a statement.
   “The see-saw pattern in truck freight tonnage continued again in September, except that the gain didn’t fully wipe out August’s decline,” Costello said of the reading. “However, over the last few months tonnage has snapped back from softness this past spring and early summer, and is approaching the record high.
   “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 slightly in August, which is not a good sign. This could have a negative impact on truck freight volumes over the next few months.”