The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 130.6 in April, which was 5.9% below the previous month (138.7).
“Like most economic indicators, truck tonnage was soft in April,” said Bob Costello, ATA chief economist. “Unless tonnage snaps back in May and June, GDP growth will likely be suppressed in the second quarter.”
Costello added that truck tonnage is off 5.3% from the high in January 2015.
“The next couple of months will be telling for both truck freight and the broader economy. Any significant jump from the first quarter is looking more doubtful,” he said.
Trucking serves as a barometer of the US economy, representing 68.8% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled just under 10 billion tons of freight in 2014. Motor carriers collected $700.4 billion, or 80.3% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.