Truck tonnage nearly flat in July
finances T he American Trucking Associations' advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 0.3 percent in July, marking the first month-to-month drop since April. The seasonally adjusted ton-nage index equaled 116.2 in July, while the nonseasonally adjusted index fell 0.1 percent to 119.7. The seasonally adjusted index was 4.4 percent higher compared with July 2007, marking its ninth consecutive year-over-year increase, although the gain was a full percentage point lower than the improvement in June. Year-to-date, the index was up 3.6 percent compared with the same period in 2007. Tonnage contracted 1.7 percent and 1.5 percent in 2006 and 2007, respectively. ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said July's tonnage reading matched sev-eral anecdotal reports from motor carriers that freight was softer in July than the previous month. Costello cautioned that truck tonnage could be volatile in coming months because the economy is expected to soften further before improving. However, slight declines in fuel prices and tightening capacity could help offset softer freight volumes, he said. ATA calculates the tonnage index based on surveys from its membership and has been doing so since the 1970s. The report includes month-to-month and year-over-year results, relevant economic comparisons and key financial indicators. The baseline year is 2000. Tonnage nearly flat in July Small drop in ATA's index is first since April n Trade using surface transpor-tation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement partners Canada and Mexico was 6.6 percent higher in June 2008 than in June 2007, reaching $74.1 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics of the U.S. Department of Transportation. n outlook for U.S. toll roads from stable to negative, citing lower traffic vol-umes due to volatile fuel prices, eco-nomic weakness and inflationary pres-sures. The report U.S. Transportation Assets: Facing a Temporary Decline or a Permanent Change? stated that toll roads are experiencing traffic declines of as much as 16 percent. n Private equity firm Fenway Partners launched The Open Road Foundation (http://openroadfounda-tion.com), a nonprofit organization that provides victim assistance and supports educational and career development programs for employ-ees and owner-operators of the trans-portation and logistics companies within the Fenway portfolio, as well as their dependents. n GE Capital Solutions Fleet Services redesigned my.FleetOffice with a new name, look, navigation and functionality. The new design is organized by drivers, vehicles and reports, and includes multilanguage access, according to the company. GE says its technical advisory board provided input through design work-shops to ensure that the new naviga-tion addresses customers' workflows from ordering to remarketing. in brief 54 Commercial Carrier Journal October 2008 American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello expects more freight volatility in the coming months due to a softer economy. ATA's Truck Tonnage Index (Seasonally Adjusted; 2000 = 100)