July Cass Freight Index report largely sees freight shipments and expenditures declines

Freight shipments and expenditures readings were mostly down in July, according to the new edition of the Cass Freight Index, which was recently issued by Cass Information Systems. 

Many freight transportation and logistics executives and analysts consider the Cass Freight Index to be the most accurate barometer of freight volumes and market conditions, with many analysts noting that the Cass Freight Index sometimes leads the American Trucking Associations (ATA) tonnage index at turning points, which lends to the value of the Cass Freight Index.

What’s more, the Cass Transportation Index accurately measure changes in North American freight activity and costs based on $44 billion in paid freight expenses for the Cass customer base of hundreds of large shippers. 

The July shipments reading, at 1.033, fell 6.9% annually and was down 1.8% compared to June. Shipments fell 1.7% on a seasonally-adjusted (SA) basis, from June to July, and were down 7.9% on a two-year stacked change basis.

“In the midst of one of the air pockets we’ve warned about in recent months, freight volumes declined in July compared to both last year and the prior month,” wrote Tim Denoyer, the report’s author and ACT Research vice president and senior analyst, in the report. “Tariffs hit shipments harder in the most recent data, as paybacks began from demand pull-forwards earlier in the year. North American shipment volumes are trending toward another considerable decline in 2025.” 

The report added that after rising 13% in 2021 and 0.6% in 2022, the index declined 5.5% in 2023 and 4.1% in 2024.

July expenditures, at 3.225, rose 0.4% annually, following a 2.6% June gain, and were off 1.5% compared to June. Expenditures decreased 0.6% on a month-to-month SA basis and were down 5.8% on a two-year stacked change basis.  

Expenditures rose for the fourth straight month in July, after more than two years of annual declines.

“The annual increase was more than explained by higher rates, as shipments fell 6.9% in July,” wrote Denoyer. “We infer rates rose 7.9% annually, largely due to changing modal mix, similar to the past several months, with more truckloads and lower LTL mix.”

And he added that he expenditures component of the Cass Freight Index, after a record 38% surge in 2021 and another 23% increase in 2022, fell 19% in 2023 and 11% in 2024.