American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.8% in July, which was a nice rebound from the revised drop of 0.4% during June. The index equaled 135.0 (2000=100) in the month, representing the second highest level on record. The all-time high of 135.8 was reached in January.

Compared with July 2014, the index increased 3.7%, which was above the 1.9% gain in June. Year-to-date through July, compared with the same period last year, tonnage was up 3.4%.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 137.3 in July, which was 0.8% below the previous month (138.4).

“After several soft months starting in February, tonnage really snapped back in July,” said ATA chief economist Bob Costello. “July was the single best monthly gain since November 2013.”

Costello said a few factors added to July’s strength, including better retail sales, factory output and housing starts, but he is still wary about the months to come.

“I remain concerned in the near term about the high level of inventories throughout the supply chain,” said Costello. “This could have a negative impact on truck freight volumes over the next few months.”