Winter storms freeze US tonnage growth

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ARLINGTON, Va. — US truck tonnage dropped 2.9% in February, according to the latest data from the American Trucking Associations.

However, the association’s chief economist said he’s not concerned about the decline, especially since winter storms likely contributed.

“Tonnage is not going to increase every month and in general I’m very pleased with freight volumes early this year,” Bob Costello said, adding he’s encouraged by anecdotal reports that tonnage is improving. “I’m hearing a significant amount of positive news from fleets and that the largest concern continues to be the price of diesel fuel, not freight levels.”

February’s tonnage was up 4.2% over last February, smaller than January’s year-over-year gains of 7.6%. Through the first two months of 2011, US tonnage was up 5.9% compared to the same period in 2010.

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