ATA: Seasonally adjusted truck tonnage index falls 3% in April

The index increased 1% compared to April of 2014, according to the American Trucking Associations.    Domestic Truck tonnage fell 3 percent in April, following a revised increase of 0.4 percent during the previous month, according to the American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index. ATA previously reported a 1.1 percent increase in the index for the month of March.
   The seasonally adjusted index equaled 128.6 in April, a 1 percent increase compared to the previous year and the lowest since April 2014. The increase was well below the 4.2 percent year-over-year growth in March. Year-to-date through April, however, tonnage is up 3.8 percent compared with the same period in 2014.
   The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, was down 5.9 percent from March.
   Tonnage in the first quarter was unchanged from the previous quarter, but up 5 percent from the first quarter of 2014.
   “Like most economic indicators, truck tonnage was soft in April,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello in a statement from the association. “Unless tonnage snaps back in May and June, GDP growth will likely be suppressed in the second quarter.”
   “While tonnage did not fully recoup the loss from February, it increased nicely in March,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello in a statement from the association. “I’d say that tonnage was one of the better indicators for the month, which is a positive sign for the broader economy.”
   Costello added that truck tonnage is down 5.3 percent from the high mark set in January 2015.
   “The next couple of months will be telling for both truck freight and the broader economy. Any significant jump from the first quarter is looking more doubtful,” he said.