Truck Tonnage Drops 12.2% in March
Truck tonnage decreased 12.2% in March compared with a year ago, falling to the lowest level since March 2002, American Trucking Associations said.
The decline in the group’s for-hire seasonally adjusted truck tonnage index was the second-worst year-over-year decrease of the current cycle.
The index fell 4.5% from the previous month, erasing the 4.5% increase it had made in the two months prior.
ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said he wasn’t too surprised about the March index. “Many fleets were telling us during March that freight was getting a little better,” he said.
“The problem is that freight should be significantly better in March, which is why the seasonally adjusted index fell,” Costello added.
Without seasonal adjustment, the index increased 10.2%, but that increase is smaller than the 15% to 20% increase usually seen from February to March.
ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.
