The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index rose 1.6% in February after falling a revised 3.1% in January.
"The latest increase from January, as well as the relatively small decrease from a year earlier, while welcomed, is probably not the norm, at least in the short-run," says ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello.
"Freight levels remain challenging, despite some anecdotal reports of better volumes in late March. At this time, however, it is difficult to ascertain whether those reports are due to seasonal blips or an underlying trend.
"We continue to look to the second half of 2007 for better tonnage volumes. But we shouldn’t expect a robust rebound in freight during 2007."
