The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has reported that United States truck tonnage decreased 0.3% in October 2007 after a modest 1.5% increase in September.
October tonnage was down 1.5% compared with the same month in 2006. Year-to-date tonnage was 2.2% lower than during the same period a year ago. ATA projected that this year could prove to be the largest annual drop of truck tonnage since a 5.2% decline in 2000.
The ATA's truck tonnage index dropped 1.6% in 2006. ATA chief economist, Bob Costello, attributed the decline to an overall weak freight environment with the US housing market largely to blame. He said he expects US freight volumes to remain soft until the second half of 2008.
“We anticipate truck freight volumes to be lackluster for the next couple of quarters,” Costello said. “There is nothing on the horizon that points to an acceleration in truck freight.”