THE American Trucking Associations' advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased by 1.2 per cent in March to 120.4 after rising 1.8 per cent in February to 119.
'March was the storm before the calm, especially for carriers hauling consumer staples, which experienced strong freight levels,' said ATA chief economist Bob Costello.
'But there was a huge divergence among freight types. While freight to grocery stores and big box retailers was strong in March, especially late March, due to surge buying by households, freight was anaemic in other supply chains, like that for gasoline, restaurants, and auto factories.
'Because of this, and the continued shuttering of many parts of the economy, I would expect April tonnage to be very soft,' he said, reported AJOT.
Compared with March 2019, the SA index increased 4.3 per cent, which was preceded by a 2.6 per cent year-over-year gain in February. During the first quarter, the index rose 1.5 per cent compared with the fourth quarter of last year and 2.4 per cent from a year earlier.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equalled 120.9 in March, 11.8 per cent above the February level (108.2).
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'March was the storm before the calm, especially for carriers hauling consumer staples, which experienced strong freight levels,' said ATA chief economist Bob Costello.
'But there was a huge divergence among freight types. While freight to grocery stores and big box retailers was strong in March, especially late March, due to surge buying by households, freight was anaemic in other supply chains, like that for gasoline, restaurants, and auto factories.
'Because of this, and the continued shuttering of many parts of the economy, I would expect April tonnage to be very soft,' he said, reported AJOT.
Compared with March 2019, the SA index increased 4.3 per cent, which was preceded by a 2.6 per cent year-over-year gain in February. During the first quarter, the index rose 1.5 per cent compared with the fourth quarter of last year and 2.4 per cent from a year earlier.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equalled 120.9 in March, 11.8 per cent above the February level (108.2).
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