National trucking index up in February

A February tonnage index reported by the American Trucking Associations’ notes two consecutive months of increases — good news for a sector facing more than two years of freight volume declines.

The ATA For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index edged 1.7% higher in February 2009, marking the second consecutive month-to-month increase.

But ATA officials said the increases don’t indicate recovery for the sector or the beginning of recovery for the national economy. The gain over the past two months, totaling 4.8%, did not even erase the 7.8% contraction in December 2008. Also, compared with February 2008, tonnage contracted 9.2%, which was the third-worst year-over-year decrease of the current cycle.
 
“As I said last month, tonnage will not fall every month on a seasonally adjusted basis, and just because it rose again in February doesn’t mean the economy is on the mend,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Tonnage plunged again on a year-over-year basis, which highlights the current weakness in the freight environment.”

Costello said there is nothing in the trucking data that suggests freight volumes are about to embark on a sustained recovery.
 
According to the ATA, trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing nearly 69% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 10.2 billion tons of freight in 2008. Motor carriers collected $660.3 billion, or 83.1% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.
 
The ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States.