ATA’s Revised February Tonnage Index Drops 2.4%
verall trucking freight volumes fell 2.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis to 115.5 in February, according to an updated American Trucking Associations index released Tuesday.
The drop in ATA’s Truck Tonnage Index was more than a previously reported 2.2% drop, the group said. It followed the largest month-to-month gain in several years in January — revised upward to 5% from a previously reported 3.4% — which was a record high, the group said.
Despite the drops in two of the past two months, the seasonally adjusted average is the second highest level on record, ATA said.
The group said one of the factors in the decline might have been the strong level of January’s freight tonnage.
“February's decrease, while quite large in historical terms, needs to be tempered with January’s extremely strong gain,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said.
ATA expects tonnage decelerate compared to 2004 but “we still expect tonnage to grow solidly in 2005,” he said.
ATA calculates the tonnage index based on surveys from its membership. The index compares activity to a 1993 base year and is derived by sampling companies in all types of freight-hauling operations.