Trucking activity in the United States slipped in March, American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) reported Tuesday in its advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.
According to ATA, tonnage was down 1.5% in March, giving back nearly half of the industry's 2.8% gain in February.
“Solid manufacturing output in March, led by robust auto production, likely helped truck freight tonnage not fall more after a very strong February,” says ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Overall in the first quarter, tonnage increased marginally from both the fourth and first quarters of 2024. While the gains were not strong at half a percent and less, it was the first time that the quarterly average increased both sequentially and from a year earlier in two years. That tells me that the freight market did in fact turn around in the first three months of the year despite an uncertain outlook.”
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In March, the ATA advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 113.4, down from 115.1 in February. The index, which is based on 2015 as 100, was up 0.2% from the same month last year, the third straight year-over-year increase, which hasn’t happened since late 2022 and early 2023, ATA says.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which calculates raw changes in tonnage hauled, equaled 114.6 in March, 9.5% above February’s reading of 104.7, ATA reports.
