Truck tonnage rose 3.8% in March from the same month last year, American Trucking Associations said Tuesday.
The March index had a reading of 123.5, ATA said in its monthly seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage report. ATA uses the year 2000 as a 100-reading baseline.
The increase follows February’s 3.1% year-over-year gain that was smaller than the 4.2% gain first reported.
Month-to-month, tonnage rose 0.9% after a revised 0.7% decrease in February that was originally reported as a 0.6% gain.
The not seasonally adjusted index — which represents tonnage actually hauled by fleets — rose 11.5% in March from the previous month to a reading of 125.2.
Year-to-date tonnage increased 3.9% compared with the same period last year.
“Expect freight tonnage will slow in the months ahead as the federal government sequester continues and households finish spending their tax returns,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said.
“The good news for tonnage is housing starts are growing and energy production is good — both of which generates heavy freight. However, these two sectors alone won’t be enough to keep the overall index growing at a 3.9% clip in the second quarter,” he said.
ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.
