Dive Brief:
- Although September trucking shipments decreased 0.9% MoM, shipments increased 3.2% YoY, the highest for September since 2014, the Cass Freight Index reported last week. Trucking expenditures also increased 0.3% MoM and 4.6% YoY.
- According to the index, September 2017's shipments weren't quite as high as September 2013, but "the nominal value index chart makes it easy to note that 2017 shipment volume overall is stronger than 2013."
- August benefited from the hurricane activity, but according to the index, so did September, "especially in the flatbed trucking segment." The index also highlighted that "parcel volumes associated with e-commerce continue to show outstanding rates of growth, with both FedEx and UPS reporting strong U.S. domestic volumes."
Dive Insight:
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) predicted September would see slower growth as the hurricane season surge tapered, but according to the data, trucking is continuing to surge ahead, with strong data points indicating a full recovery from the industry recession that began in 2015.
Shipments did slip 0.9%, but compared to August's 4.7% leap, that's hardly a concern for the trucking industry. In fact, the Cass Index noted in their latest report that they are becoming "more focused on the number of loads moved by truck and less focused on the number of tons moved by truck" because of the rise of e-commerce and the shift away from brick-and-mortar retail.
That combined with rebuilding from the hurricane damage prompted ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello to say, "Going forward, rebuilding from those hurricanes and other natural disasters like the wildfires in California will add to freight demand. September’s small setback doesn't worry me."
As we approach the remainder of 2017 and experience the fuel that expanding e-commerce provides during the holiday peak season, the trucking industry is likely to continue to see significant leaps of growth.
