by Calculated Risk on 3/28/2016 04:39:00 PM

From the ATA: ATA Truck Tonnage Index Jumps 7.2% in February

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index jumped 7.2% in February, following a revised 0.3% reduction during January. In February, the index equaled 144 (2000=100), up from 134.3 in January. February’s level is an all-time high.

Compared with February 2015, the SA index was up 8.6%, which was up from January’s 1.1% year-over-year gain.
...
“While it is nice to see a strong February, I caution everyone not read too much into it,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “The strength was mainly due to a weaker than average January, including bad winter storms, thus there was some catch-up going on in February. Normally, fleets report large declines to ATA in February tonnage, in the range of 5.4% to 6.7% over the last three years. So, the small increase this year yielded a big seasonally adjusted gain. If March is strong, then I’ll get more excited.

“I’m still concerned about the elevated inventories throughout the supply chain. Last week, the Census Bureau reported that relative to sales, inventories rose again in January, which is troubling.” he said. “We need those inventories reduced before trucking can count on more consistent, better freight volumes.”
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

Here is a long term graph that shows ATA's For-Hire Truck Tonnage index.

The dashed line is the current level of the index.

The index is now up 8.6% year-over-year.