Truck Tonnage Improves 2.6% in February
U.S. truck tonnage rose 2.6% in February from a year ago, the third consecutive year-over-year gain, American Trucking Associations reported.
ATA’s seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index slipped 0.5% from January to February, following a revised 1.9% month-to-month figure for January that had originally been reported at 3.1%.
For the first two months of this year, seasonally adjusted tonnage was up 3.5% over the same period last year, while for all of 2009 the index contracted 8.7%, marking the largest annual decrease since 1982, ATA said late Thursday.
But ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello told CNBC in an interview aired Thursday that “things are starting to pick up a little and we are cautiously optimistic” that will continue. (Click here to see interview; CNBC Web site.)
“I continue to hear from motor carriers that both the demand and supply situations are steadily improving,” Costello said in a statement. “Certainly it will take a while to make up the ground lost during the recession, but the industry is on the path to recovery.”
Costello said he expects to see some volatility on a month-to-month basis throughout this year, but the trend line should be for moderate growth.
ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.
