March Truck Tonnage Jumped 2.4%

For-hire contract freight tonnage remained solid in March, only limited by lack of capacity, both of drivers and equipment, at contract fleets, explains American Trucking Associations’ Chief Economist Bob Costello in a press release.

ATA’s advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.4% in March after rising 0.7% in February. In March, the index equaled 118.8 versus 116.1 in February.

March was the eighth straight month-to-month improvement, with a total increase of 7.4% over that period.

During the first quarter, the index rose 2.4% from the final quarter of 2021 and increased 2.6% from a year earlier.

Compared with March 2021, the index increased 3.8%, which was the seventh straight year-over-year gain and the largest over that period. In February, the index was up 3.2% from a year earlier. In 2022, year-to-date and compared with same period in 2021, tonnage was up 2.6%.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 123.9 in March, 17.9% above the February level (105.1). In calculating the index, 100 represents 2015. ATA’s For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight.