April Truck Tonnage Jumps 2%
April truck tonnage jumped 2% from a year ago, marking the sixth consecutive increase, American Trucking Associations said.
ATA also upgraded its March tonnage index to a 1.5% year-over-year increase, after previously reporting a 0.1% decline.
April’s tonnage declined 1.1% from March, ATA said in its monthly seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index.
The year-over-year increase put the seasonally adjusted index at a reading of 114, ATA said.
ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said while the upward revision to March’s tonnage was a positive sign, the outlook for truck freight remains mixed.
“Truck tonnage hasn’t grown since January of this year on a month-to-month basis, suggesting the overall economy remains very soft,” he said. “The fact that tonnage is showing sustained year-over-year growth is positive . . . although part of the strength is due to easy comparisons from 2007.”
Costello added that rapidly rising fuel prices are by far a bigger problem for the motor carrier industry than freight volumes, as they are weighing heavily on consumers too.
ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.
