Truck Tonnage Declines for Second Straight Month, ATA Says

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merican Trucking Associations’ for-hire truck tonnage index dropped 3.2% in March, the second straight decline following a revised 3.6% decline in February.

The decline left the seasonally adjusted index at a reading of 110.1, the TTI’s lowest level since November 2003, ATA said late Thursday. The index was 2.6% lower than March 2005.

The non-seasonally adjusted index surged 15.4% from February to 118.7, 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 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.