Truck tonnage rises 3.8% in March

From Transport Topics.

March truck tonnage rose 3.8% compared with year-ago levels, and also posted a first-quarter gain over the same period in 2021, American Trucking Associations reported.

The ATA For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index for March reached 118.8, compared with 106.8 in March 2021. Year-to-date, tonnage is up 2.6% compared with Q1 2021.

On a month-to-month basis, the index was 2.4% higher than the 116.1 recorded in February of this year.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello noted that the March result marked the seventh straight month of annual gains, and was the largest across that stretch.

“It is important to note that ATA’s for-hire tonnage data is dominated by contract freight, with minimal amounts of spot market loads,” Costello said. “And, clearly, contract freight was solid in March, witnessing the largest sequential gain since May 2020. March was also the eighth straight month-to-month improvement, with a total increase of 7.4% over that period.”

Costello said tonnage could have been higher last month had there been more drivers available to haul freight.

“During the first quarter, the index rose 2.4% from the final quarter of 2021,” he said. “While there might be some recent softness in the spot market, for-hire contract freight tonnage remains solid and is only limited by lack of capacity — both drivers and equipment — at contract fleets.”

See the complete article online at Transport Topics.