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Truck Tonnage Falls 9.2% Year-Over-Year
Truck tonnage fell 9.2% in February compared with a year ago, though it rose 1.7% from January, American Trucking Associations said late Wednesday.
The decline in the group’s for-hire seasonally adjusted truck tonnage index marked the fifth straight year-over-year decline, following 11 straight increases.
The rise from January was the second straight monthly increase, while the 9.2% drop from a year ago was the third-worst year-to-year drop in the current cycle, ATA said.
ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello was cautious about reading too much into the monthly improvement. “Tonnage will not fall every month on a seasonally adjusted basis, and just because it rose again in February doesn’t mean the economy is on the mend,” he said.
“Tonnage plunged again on a year-over-year basis, which highlights the current weakness in the freight environment,” Costello said in a statement, noting that fleets are still operating in a difficult economic environment.
He predicted that any sustained tonnage recovery is likely months away.
ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.