Welcome news for the trucking sector saw a healthy increase of 2.7% in for-hire truck tonnage for the month of May across the United States. A promising month of growth on the back of two straight months of small decreases.
All data is part of the American Trucking Associations’ seasonally-adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index. 
Specifically, in May, the tonnage rose by nearly 6% year-over-year which bring the updated yearly increase thus far to plus 4% versus 2015. Considering this year has seen variable economic and manufacturing results the numbers are encouraging, some of which must be aided by reasonable consumer spending trends.
ATA chief economist Bob Costello suggests that the coming months may see similar 'ups and downs' in the trends for the trucking sector.
“Following two consecutive decreases totaling 6%, May was a nice increase in truck tonnage. Better consumer spending in April and May certainly helped, but economic growth remains mixed and I’d expect the recent choppy pattern in tonnage to continue for the next quarter or two. We recently received good news on the inventory cycle, with the total business inventory-to-sales ratio declining for the first time in nearly a year. While one month doesn’t make a trend, this was good news for the trucking industry.”
