Truck Tonnage Rises 5.5% in February
Truck tonnage rose 5.5% in February from the same month last year, American Trucking Associations said Tuesday.
The year-over-year increase followed a 3.1% gain in January that was revised down from the 3.6% originally reported.
February tonnage gained 0.5% from January, ATA said in its monthly seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage report.
January’s sequential drop from December was revised to a 4.6% decline, from an originally reported 4% downturn, ATA said.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents actual tonnage, was 112.9 in February. ATA uses the year 2000 as a 100-reading baseline.
“Fleets told us that February was decent and that played out in the numbers,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said, noting that the month-to-month increase was sixth in the past seven months
“I’m still expecting continued truck tonnage growth going forward. Rising manufacturing activity and temperate consumer spending should be helped a little from an improving housing market,” Costello added.
ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.
