07.27.2007
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| Trucking Shipments Keep Falling
Trucking Shipments Keep Falling 7/27/07 Quote:
WASHINGTON — The amount of goods shipped by truck in the U.S. fell by 3.4 percent in June from a year earlier as second-quarter economic growth did not benefit trucking companies.
Trucking companies Marten Transport Ltd. and YRC Worldwide Inc. both reported big drops in second-quarter profit this week amid a slow market for freight.
In a monthly report, the American Trucking Associations said its seasonally adjusted truck tonnage index in June fell 0.1 percent from a month earlier in the third-straight drop.
In May, the year-over-year index fell by 3.6 percent, after falling by 2.7 percent in April
The slumping manufacturing and housing sectors, combined with weak economic growth outside the service sector made the second quarter bad for the trucking industry, said Bob Costello, the trade group's chief economist.
"Unfortunately, with housing still weakening, the improvement in tonnage during the second half of the year will likely be less than previously thought," Costello said in a statement.
Because more than two thirds of all manufactured and retail goods in the U.S. are carried by truck, the industry is considered an important economic bellwether.
The Alexandria, Va.-based trucking group said its tonnage index stood at 110.5 in June, compared with 110.6 a month earlier. The index measures the weight of freight hauled by U.S. truckers, based on surveys from its membership.
Trucking companies have seen their fuel costs surge in the past few years, though they have been able to pass most of those extra expenses through to customers.
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