Freight Metrics Dip in March

Freight market activity dropped 1.5% in March, losing roughly half the gains it made in February, according to a new report.

This drop was not enough to offset the slight rise in freight activity for the first quarter, which hovered around half a percentage, according to the American Trucking Associations’ For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.

The April 22 report noted that March’s figures could have been worse. “Solid manufacturing output in March, led by robust auto production, likely helped truck freight tonnage not fall more after a very strong February,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello stated in an accompanying release. 

He added that the first quarter increase followed a similar fourth quarter result in 2024, as well as from a year earlier, marking the first time both a month-over-month increase and year-over-year increase have been seen at the same time in two years.

“That tells me that the freight market did, in fact, turn around in the first three months of the year despite an uncertain outlook,” Costello said.

March’s total on the not-seasonally adjusted index was 113.4, versus February’s 115.1. The index, which is based on member surveys, is dominated by contract freight.