ATA: Truck tonnage index steady in February

The seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index slipped 0.1 percent compared with the previous month to a reading of 138.7, following a revised 2.9 percent increase in January, according to the American Trucking Associations.    Domestic truck tonnage was relatively stable in February 2017, slipping just 0.1 percent compared with the previous month, following a revised 2.9 percent increase in January, according to the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.
   The seasonally adjusted index equaled 138.7 for the month, down 2.8 percent compared with February 2016, after growing 2.6 percent year-over-year in January. ATA noted the all-time high index reading was 142.7 in February 2016.
   For the full year in 2016, tonnage rose 2.5 percent compared with 2015, but so far in 2017, the index is up just 0.1 percent from the same period a year ago.
  The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage hauled by fleets prior to any seasonal adjustment, equaled 125.5 in February, down 4.6 percent from 131.7 the previous month.
   “February’s numbers, especially the year-over-year drop, might surprise some as several other economic indicators were positive in February,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a statement. “However, I’m not worried about the decline from February last year as it was really due to very difficult comparisons more than anything else: February 2016 was abnormally strong.
   “Looking ahead, signs remain mostly positive for truck tonnage, including lower inventory levels, better manufacturing activity, solid housing starts, good consumer spending, as well as an increase in the oil rig count – all of which are drivers of freight volumes,” he added.