ATA: Truck tonnage index surges 7.2% in February

The seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 144 for the month, an all-time high for the index and an 8.6 percent increase compared with February 2015, according to the American Trucking Associations.    Domestic truck tonnage surged 7.2 percent in February 2016, following an adjusted 0.3 percent dip during January, according to the American Trucking Association’s advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.
   The seasonally adjusted index equaled 144 for the month, up from 134.3 in January and an all-time high for the index. The growth also represents the largest sequential monthly increase for the index since January 2013 (11.4 percent) and the largest year-over-year increase since December 2013 (10.4 percent).
   ATA said tonnage grew 8.6 percent compared with February 2015, up substantially from the index’s 1.1 percent year-over-year gain in January. Truck tonnage has increased 4.8 percent in the first two months of 2016 compared with the same 2015 period.
   The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage hauled by fleets prior to any seasonal adjustment, 129 in February, up 0.4 percent from January.
“While it is nice to see a strong February, I caution everyone not read too much into it,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a statement. “The strength was mainly due to a weaker than average January, including bad winter storms, thus there was some catch-up going on in February. Normally, fleets report large declines to ATA in February tonnage, in the range of 5.4% to 6.7% over the last three years. So, the small increase this year yielded a big seasonally adjusted gain. If March is strong, then I’ll get more excited.
   “I’m still concerned about the elevated inventories throughout the supply chain. Last week, the Census Bureau reported that relative to sales, inventories rose again in January, which is troubling.” he added. “We need those inventories reduced before trucking can count on more consistent, better freight volumes.”