ATA Revises March Tonnage Decline to 2.9%

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merican Trucking Associations late Thursday revised its March for-hire truck tonnage index to a 2.9% decline, compared with an earlier 3.2% reported drop.

he month-to-month decline followed a 3.6% drop in February. ATA issued the previous figure in a preliminary report two weeks ago. (Click here for previous coverage.)

he downturn left the seasonally adjusted index at a reading of 110.4, its lowest level since November 2003. The index was 2.3% lower than March 2005.

The non-seasonally adjusted index surged 15.8% to 119.1, the highest reading since September. Carriers typically haul significantly more tonnage in March, which accounted for that increase, ATA said.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said that March marked the first time since 2001 that tonnage volumes declined on a year-over-year basis for three consecutive months.

Motor carriers anecdotally reported weaker freight volumes than normal in the first part of the month but rebounded by month’s end and remained strong through early April, Costello said.

ATA’s economics department calculates the monthly index based on surveys of its members.