American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 5.1% in July after surging 8.9% in June. In July, the index equaled 109.6 (2015=100) compared with 115.5 in June. Despite July’s decline, the index was 3.3% above the recent low in May. June’s increase was revised up slightly to 8.9% from our July 21 press release. Compared with July 2019, the SA index contracted 8.3%, the fourth straight year-over-year decline. Year-to-date, compared with the same period in 2019, tonnage is down 3.2%.

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 2% in April after rising 1.8% in March. In April, the index equaled 115.8 (2015=100) versus 118.2 in March. “After eight straight gains totaling 6.9%, for-hire tonnage finally slid back in April. Despite being the largest sequential drop since August 2020, the index was still above where it started in 2022 and a year earlier,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “It is important to note that ATA’s for-hire tonnage data is dominated by contract freight with minimal amounts of spot market loads. The spot market has softened more than for-hire contract freight, as the market transitions back to pre-pandemic shares of contract versus spot market," Costello said.

Oil slipped for a third day in New York, continuing its retreat from a three-year high, on estimates that U.S. crude stockpiles increased last week. “Strong U.S. crude supply growth…