US truck tonnage posts 1.7% gain in March

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ARLINGTON, Va. — US truck tonnage rose 1.7% in March, after falling a revised 2.7% in February, according to the latest data from the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

March tonnage reached the highest level since January of this year.

Compared to March 2010, seasonally adjusted US truck tonnage was up 6.3%, better than February’s 4.4% year-over-year gain but below the 7.6% y-o-y jump in January, the ATA reports.

For the first quarter of 2011, tonnage was up 3.8% from the previous quarter and 6.1% compared to Q1 2010.

“Despite my concern that higher energy costs are going to begin cutting into consumer spending, tonnage levels were pretty good in March and the first quarter of the year,” said ATA chief economist and vice-president, Bob Costello. “While I still think the industry will continue to grow and recover from the weak freight environment we’ve seen in recent years, the rapid spike in fuel prices will slow that growth.” 

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