National trucking index marks five months of gains
by May 28, 2010 3:02 pm 69 views
The American Trucking Associations’ tonnage index increased 0.9% in April, marking the fifth consecutive month of gains for the troubled trucking sector.
The latest improvement put the seasonally adjusted index at 110.2 (2000 = 100), which is the highest level since September 2008. Over the last seven months, the tonnage index grew a total of 6.5%. Compared with April 2009, tonnage was up 9.4%, the largest increase since January 2005. Year-to-date, tonnage is up 6% compared with the same period in 2009.
“Truck tonnage volumes continue to improve at a solid, yet sustainable, rate. Tonnage is being boosted by robust manufacturing output and stronger retail sales,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a statement. “For most fleets, freight volumes feel better than reported tonnage because the supply situation, particularly in the truckload sector, is turning quickly.”
Obviously, the continued freight tonnage improvements are good news for Fort Smith-based ABF Freight System and Van Buren-based USA Truck. Both companies have struggled to stay in business during a freight recession that has seen at least 8,180 trucking companies fail between 2006-2009.
A recent report from Jack Waldo, a transportation sector analyst with Little Rock-based Stephens Inc., also notes recent improvements in freight demand. Waldo said recent gains in freight demand may help ABF — which has lost almost $85 million in the past five fiscal quarters — report positive earnings by the fourth quarter of 2010.
According to the ATA, trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing nearly 68% of tonnage carried in 2008 by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 8.8 billion tons of freight in 2009. Motor carriers collected $544.4 billion, or 81.9% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.
The trucking sector is important to the Arkansas economy. Arkansas and Nebraska are tops in the country in in terms of percentage of total state employment being in the trucking sector, according to the ATA trends. In Arkansas, 3.7% of all people employed in the private sector worked for a trucking company, with 3.6% for Nebraska. California and Texas have the most people working in the trucking industry in terms of total numbers.