American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 1.5% in June after falling 1% in May. In June, the index equaled 111.6 (2015=100) compared with 113.3 in May. “Tonnage has definitely flattened out, on average, over the last six to nine months,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “The good news is that it remains slightly above 2020 levels. “Supply chain issues are likely putting some downward pressure on tonnage,” he said. “But it is also likely that tonnage isn’t growing as much as it could because of industry-specific supply constraints. This index is dominated by contract freight, and the for-hire truckload carriers have seen their tractor counts fall because they are having difficulty finding qualified drivers. It is difficult to move more tonnage with less equipment, which is why we are seeing strong volumes in the spot market as shippers scramble to get loads moved.”

Teamsters at less-than-truckload carrier Yellow Corp. will not be on strike Monday as previously planned. Central States Funds agreed Sunday to extend health care benefits for employees at YRC Freight and Holland. Yellow now has 30 days to pay $50 million to catch up on its benefits payments. A statement from the Teamsters said it expects the company to make the payments within the next two weeks. “The intense discussions between Teamsters leadership and Central States successfully convinced fund trustees to reverse their previous decision that health care benefits would end on July 23 if Yellow remained delinquent,” the statement read.

American Dollar to Canadian Dollar = 0.786569; American Dollar to Chinese Yuan = 0.154452; American Dollar to Euro = 1.212321; American Dollar to Japanese Yen = 0.009644; American Dollar to Mexican Peso = 0.050441.