ARLINGTON, Va. – U.S. for-hire truck tonnage remained volatile in August, dropping 3.2% on the heels of a 6.2% gain in July, according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA). The For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index was up 4.1% year-over-year and year-to-date…
The report says that the trendline for tonnage is continuing to trend up - up 4.3% year/year. This report would suggest more demand which should decrease supply and increase rates but we all feel that pricing seems to be muted.
The DAT figures continue to show that year/year the number of spot load posts is down (26% WOW) with the number of spot truck posts up (12% WOW again!). This is the exact opposite of what the ATA report suggests - if tonnage goes up, the number of spot loads should also go up.
The only explanation that I can come up with is that all that extra tonnage and then some is being offered outside of the spot market which makes me scratch my head as to how this could be conceivable. Are the ATA numbers, or the DAT numbers, or both skewed? Are the big mega carriers adding that much capacity to swallow up that much tonnage and more?
Can anyone else offer an alternative scenario how these contrasting numbers play out?
