ATA’s April Truck Tonnage Index Gains 2%

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merican Trucking Associations late Thursday said its preliminary April for-hire truck tonnage index rose 2%, following a revised 2.9% drop in March.

The gain put the seasonally adjusted index at 112.6 and the index was 1.9% below the same month last year.

The not seasonally adjusted index dropped 9.5% from March to 107.8.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said April was in line with industry expectations as many motor carriers anecdotally said that the month was the strongest since January.

“If February and March weren’t so weak, the 2% percent jump would have been viewed as stellar,” Costello said.

“Many carriers have noted an abnormally high start and stop trend in freight recently, with some good weeks followed by a step backward. Nevertheless, April was a good sign that truck volumes are improving from the challenging first quarter,” he said.

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