U.S. truck tonnage up to start 2020
ARLINGTON, Va. – U.S. for-hire truck tonnage went into the Covid-19 pandemic crisis in good shape.
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) reported U.S. for-hire truck tonnage rose 1.8% in February, up 2.6% year-over-year.
“Before any impacts from Covid-19, truck tonnage had a solid month in February,” said ATA chief economist Bob Costello. “Last month, solid housing starts, high levels of retail sales, and even a modest improvement in manufacturing activity all helped freight volumes. With truck tonnage up nicely from a year earlier in February, the trucking industry was in a fairly good place before economic impacts hit from the health crisis. Trucking volumes, early in the Covid-19 emergency, will be positive for consumer staples and other commodities before we see a slowdown as the economy contracts in the second quarter.”
The first two months of 2020 saw the ATA’s truck tonnage
index rise 1.5% compared to the same two months in 2019.
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