As data from July comes in, the weak nature of the current freight environment continues on.
Supply Chain Digest Says...
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| The Cass Linehaul Index, which measures per mile US truckload rates before fuel surcharges and other accessorial fees, was down 3.2% in July versus 2023, widening from 2.4% in June. |
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This week, the monthly freight tonnage index from the American Trucking Associations fell 0.9% in July versus the same period in 2023,
The index was up a modest 0.3% in July versus June, with June volumes having dropped 1.6% versus May.
ATA's For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as opposed to traditional spot market freight.
"While July wasn't a strong month, we see continued evidence that the truck freight market is likely turning a corner, albeit slowly," said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. "Some of July's small gain was likely due to strong import activity, especially at West Coast seaports. Decent retail sales and factory output growing slightly from a year earlier also helped truck tonnage last month."
In July, the index stood at 113.7, versus the baseline of the average in 2015, for which the index set is set at 100.
That means freight tonnage is up just 13.7% versus 2015, now almost 10 years later.
The week before we saw the freight report from Cass Information Systems, based on the billions of dollars of freight bills Cass pays for its shipper clients.
The shipments component of the Cass freight index rose 3.0% versus June – but that came after four months of decline.
Shipments fell a modest 1.1% versus July of 2023, though that decline followed a drop of 6.0% in June. The shipments index has fallen every month year-over-year since mid-2022.
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The Cass Linehaul Index, which measures per mile US truckload rates before fuel surcharges and other accessorial fees, was down 3.2% in July versus 2023, widening from 2.4% in June. While this has narrowed from a 15% year-over-year decline a year ago, Cass says it seems unlikely to turn positive quickly.
The report notes that this index includes both spot and contract freight, adding that “With spot rates steady over the past year, downward pressure on the larger contract market is lessening, but recent slight increases in spot rates are not yet enough to turn contract rates higher.”
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