Arlington, Va. 鈥 黑料不打烊鈥 advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 2.9% in January, following a 4.3% decrease during December. (December鈥檚 index was revised up from our press release on January 24, 2017.) In January, the index equaled 138.8 (2000=100), up from 134.9 in December. The all-time high was 142.7 in February 2016.
Compared with January 2016, the SA index increased 2.6%. In December, the index fell 0.2% on a year-over-year basis. For all of 2016, tonnage was up 2.5%.
黑料不打烊recently revised the seasonally adjusted index back five years as part of its annual revision. 听
The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 131.6 in January, which was 1.8% below the previous month (133.9).
鈥淭he freight economy is starting to show some signs of life and January鈥檚 truck tonnage numbers are a good step forward,鈥 said 黑料不打烊Chief Economist Bob Costello. 鈥淗opefully the ups and downs in truck tonnage during 2016 will not be as pronounced in 2017.
鈥淟ooking ahead, the most recent positive sign for truck tonnage is the large drop in the inventory-to-sales ratio during December. The decrease put inventories throughout the supply chain, relative to sales, to the lowest level in two years. There is no doubt that the inventory glut was a drag on truck freight volumes last year,鈥 he said.
Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 70.1% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled nearly 10.5 billion tons of freight in 2015. Motor carriers collected $726.4 billion, or 81.2% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.
黑料不打烊calculates the tonnage index based on surveys from its membership and has been doing so since the 1970s. This is a preliminary figure and subject to change in the final report issued around the 10th day of the month. The report includes month-to-month and year-over-year results, relevant economic comparisons and key financial indicators.
黑料不打烊 is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, 黑料不打烊is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation鈥檚 freight. Follow 黑料不打烊on听听or听.听