New figures from the American Trucking Association show that freight tonnage rose slightly in October, when seasonally adjusted. The Index climbed 0.5 percent in October, following a 0.8 percent decline in September.
“Tonnage made a nice comeback after declining in September,” Bob Costello, ATA chief economist, said, according to a story in Fleetowner. “The gain fits with the increases in retail sales and factory output during October, as well as with good anecdotal reports about the fall freight season. The solid month-to-month gain, coupled with the acceleration in the year-over-year growth rate, is a good sign for the fourth quarter,” Costello said. “In addition, I’m expecting a solid fall freight season as holiday sales are forecasted to see the largest increase since 2011.”
The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 140.4 in September which was 4.3 percent above the previous month.
