Truck Tonnage Jumps 7.5%

From Transport Topics Online
Updated: 4/28/2010 10:00:00 AM
Truck Tonnage Jumps 7.5%

U.S. truck tonnage jumped 7.5% in March from a year ago, the fourth straight year-over-year increase, American Trucking Associations said.

The increase was the biggest since January 2005, and in the first quarter tonnage rose 4.9% from the same period last year, ATA said late Tuesday in its monthly seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index.

The index rose 0.4% in March from February, following a revised 0.3% downturn in February from that had originally been reported as a 0.5% decline.

The not seasonally adjusted index — the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment — equaled 116.4 in March, a 19.1% jump from February.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said that he is getting more optimistic about the motor carrier industry’s recovery.

“Freight is moving in the right direction and I continue to hear from motor carriers that both the demand and supply situations are steadily improving,” he said in a statement.

Costello attributed the first-quarter improvement in tonnage to the growing economy and to a slight inventory build after some sectors slashed inventories by too much in 2009.

“For most fleets, freight volumes feel better than reported tonnage because the supply situation, particularly in the truckload sector, is turning quickly,” he said.