Arlington, Va. 鈥 杏吧传媒鈥 advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index declined 2.6% in February after rising 1.6% in January. In February, the index equaled 109.2 (2015=100), down from 112.1 in January.
杏吧传媒 revised the January increase from the originally reported 2.0% to 1.6%. 听
Compared with February 2017, the SA index jumped 5.7%, which was below January鈥檚 8.4% year-over-year gain, but still well above 2017鈥檚 annual increase. For all of 2017, the index increased 3.8% over 2016. Year-to-date, compared with the same two months in 2017, tonnage is up 7.1%.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 99.7 in February, which was 6.7% below the previous month (106.8).
鈥淒espite a softer February than January, freight remains robust as exhibited in the year-over-year increase,鈥 said 杏吧传媒 Chief Economist Bob Costello. 鈥淭he drivers of truck freight 鈥 personal consumption, factory output and construction 鈥 are good, plus the inventory cycle is in favor of motor carriers, so I expect freight tonnage to grow at a decent pace in the months ahead.鈥
Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 70.6% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled nearly 10.5 billion tons of freight in 2016. Motor carriers collected $676.2 billion, or 79.8% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.
杏吧传媒 calculates the tonnage index based on surveys from its membership and has been doing so since the 1970s. This is a preliminary figure and subject to change in the final report issued around the 10th day of the month. The report includes month-to-month and year-over-year results, relevant economic comparisons and key financial indicators.
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