Truck Tonnage Up In March

American Trucking Associations’ For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased by 1.1% in March following a revised drop of 2.8% in the month of February. For the month, the index equaled 133.5, shy of all-time high of 135.8 reached in January 2015.

Tonnage has increased in five of the last six months and has gained 5% compared with March 2014. For the quarter, tonnage was flat compared to the previous one but was up 5% compared to the first quarter of 2014.

Without being seasonally adjusted, the index equaled 139.7 for the month which was a 17.2% increase from February’s mark. The non-seasonally adjusted index represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by fleets that month.

While the increases were slight, ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello believes that it is a positive indicator for the economy. He also cautioned that the next few months would be telling for truck freight going into the spring freight season.

“While tonnage did not fully recoup the loss from February, it increased nicely in March,” said Costello. “I’d say that tonnage was one of the better indicators for the month which is a positive sign for the broader economy.”