US truck tonnage slides slightly in February

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ARLINGTON, Va. — US truck tonnage slipped 0.5% in February, following a revised 1.9% gain in January.

The For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, compiled by the American Trucking Associations, was up 2.6% compared to Ferbuary 2009.

That marked the third straight month of year-over-year gains and an increase of 3.5% for the first two months of 2010 over 2009.

Of course, 2009 was a brutal year for truck tonnage, contracting 8.7% – the largest annual decrease since 1982.

“I continue to hear from motor carriers that both the demand and supply situations are steadily improving,” said ATA chief economist Bob Costello. “Certainly it will take a while to make up the ground lost during the recession, but the industry is on the path to recovery.”

Costello predicted there will be more month-to-month volatility but expects the trend line to show moderate growth. He also noted the winter storms that hammered the US East Coast could have contributed to the decline.

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