U.S. truck tonnage surprises in August

by Truck News

ARLINGTON, Va. – U.S. for-hire truck tonnage rose 7.1% in August, and was up 8.2% year-over-year, according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

Year-to-date, tonnage is up 2.1% compared to the same eight months in 2016. The ATA also revised its July increase in the index to a 0.5% gain, up from the 0.1% first reported.

“Tonnage was stronger than most other economic indicators in August and more than I would have expected,” said ATA chief economist Bob Costello. “However, prep work for the hurricanes and better port volumes likely gave tonnage an added boost during the month. I suspect that short-term service disruptions from when the storms made landfall, as well as the normal ebb and flow of freight, could make September weaker and tonnage will smooth out to more moderate gains, on average.”


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