Bob Costello

Bob Costello is the Chief Economist for American Trucking Associations.

[American Trucking @TRUCKINGdotORG]

Tune in May 30 at 2 PM EST for ATA’s May 2023 Economic & Trucking Update, sponsored by @PrePass. ATA’s @ATAEconBob will highlight the current economic and trucking trends and explain what it means for your business. Register today. https://t.co/LZHu4RpAfy

[American Trucking @TRUCKINGdotORG]

Truck #tonnage has increased sequentially over the last three months, totaling 2.9%.

February's gain = 1.2%. 🚛 📈

https://t.co/5NoDAKGTil

[Transport Topics @TransportTopics]

“I think that we’re going to have a mild recession early next year,” @ATAEconBob Costello said. By @ConnorInTheNews #ATAmce22 https://t.co/JiGHisqSOP

[Bob Costello @ATAEconBob]

ATA Truck Tonnage Index Rose 0.5% in September https://t.co/8nYCLDQVoK

[American Trucking @TRUCKINGdotORG]

Join us on Tuesday, November 8th at 2PM EST for ATA’s November 2022 Economic & Trucking Webinar, sponsored by @usbank. ATA’s Bob Costello will share an updated look at the economy.

This webinar is open to the public. Register here: https://t.co/DhP8fr9H6V

[American Trucking @TRUCKINGdotORG]

American Trucking Trends 2022, the singularly important guide to economic trends and other topics in the trucking and transportation industry, has officially been released! Order your edition for just $140 for ATA Members and $275 for Non-Members.
Order: https://t.co/qk5y6DTfhv

[Bob Costello @ATAEconBob]

Another solid seasonally adjusted truck tonnage reading. Sep +0.5% over Aug; +5.5% over Sep '21. ATA's index includes TL and LTL freight and is dominated by contract loads. So another indication that contract is holding up better than spot.

[Bob Costello @ATAEconBob]

DOL reported today that for-hire trucking shed 11,400 jobs in Sept. Excluding Apr'2020, that was the largest decrease since Apr'09. It suggests that small fleets are folding and/or fleets are right sizing, but it should ease overcapacity fears, which I don't subscribe to.

[Bob Costello @ATAEconBob]

After a down July, for-hire truck tonnage (TL and LTL) snapped back in August, +2.8% from July and +7.4% from Aug '21. Level of tonnage is back to 2019 levels, which is the all-time high.

[American Trucking @TRUCKINGdotORG]

How will interest rates, geopolitical tensions, & commodity prices affect the US economy & the #truckingindustry? We'll explore this topic Oct. 25 at #ATAmce22 in our general session, Sponsored by @PilotFlyingJ. Register to join us! https://t.co/XdEHl3DZsM

[Bob Costello @ATAEconBob]

CPI report for July: While still very high, it surprised to the low side (a good thing). +8.5% y/y vs estimate of +8.7%. In June, +9.1% y/y. Still a LONG way to go, but a step in the right direction.

[American Trucking @TRUCKINGdotORG]

ATA’s June 2022 Economic & Trucking Update, sponsored by @PrePass, is June 28 at 2 pm EST. Join ATA’s Bob Costello, Chief Economist & Senior Vice President, for an updated look at the current economic and trucking trends. Open to all ATA members. https://t.co/BUG6JYfW85

[Bob Costello @ATAEconBob]

ATA Members Only: Join me for my Q2 Economic & Freight Market Update sponsored by @PrePass on June 28th at 2pm. Register here: https://t.co/uyY4uYhXlB

[Bob Costello @ATAEconBob]

ATA members: I'll be giving a webinar on the state of the economy and freight market at 2pm ET on 6/28 sponsored by @ACT1trucking. Mark your calendars now and register soon here: https://t.co/XkhJrMTCjo ATA members only. @TRUCKINGdotORG

[Bob Costello @ATAEconBob]

For-Hire Truck Tonnage rose 0.5% in May over April and increased 3.7% from a year earlier. The @TRUCKINGdotORG index is dominated by contract freight, not traditional spot. Seems like the transition back to contract from spot is continued last month.

[Bob Costello @ATAEconBob]

Again in the first quarter there were some interesting trends at the regional level of @USBankPayments data. Nationally, the data suggests a solid freight market despite some real challenges in the first quarter.

[Bob Costello @ATAEconBob]

Strong gain in for-hire truck tonnage during March. This data is dominated by contract freight with minimal amounts of spot tonnage.

[American Trucking @TRUCKINGdotORG]

Contract freight was solid in March, witnessing the largest sequential gain since May 2020.
🚛📈

[Bob Costello @ATAEconBob]

Excuse me? How many jobs were added in January? 467,000? Huge upside surprise. Avg hr earnings jump. Fed clearly behind the curve. For-hire trucking added 8,000 to payrolls, which is a big number. Certainly seasonal adjustment factor impacts, but still a very strong report.

[Bob Costello @ATAEconBob]

U.S. Bank  Freight Payment Index: Number of shipments drop, cost to ship climbs https://t.co/tzXCedKuhP

[Bob Costello @ATAEconBob]

This is GREAT news! I highly encourage all fleets that are asked to fill out the survey do so. This is very important for the industry and desperately needed after 20 years. @TRUCKINGdotORG @TransportTopics

[Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) @bts_usdot]

Launching this February, first VIUS in 20 years! Sponsored by #theoriginalbts, @uscensusbureau, and @USDOTFHWA. What’s a VIUS? Find out at https://t.co/NnIVTfKYMO #freight #trucking #vius @OOIDA @TRUCKINGdotORG