The American Trucking Association's (ATA) advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 1.1 percent in April after increasing 0.6 percent in March. (March's gain was more than the preliminary 0.2 percent increase ATA reported on April 24). Compared with April 2011, the SA index was up 3.5 percent, better than March's 3.1 percent increase. Year-to-date, compared with the same period last year, tonnage was up 3.8 percent.
ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said: "While just one month, the April's decrease also matches with an economy that is likely to grow slightly slower in the second quarter than in the first quarter." Costello reiterated last month's noting that the industry should not expect the rate of growth seen over the last couple of years, when tonnage grew 5.8 percent in both 2010 and 2011. "I continue to expect tonnage to moderate from the pace over the last two years. Annualized growth in the 3 percent to 3.9 percent seems more likely."
Trucking serves as a barometer of the US economy, representing 67.2 percent of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods.