American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.2 percent in April after easing 1 percent in March. In April, the index equaled 112.5 (2015=100), up from 110.1 in March.

ATA revised the March decline slightly from the originally reported 1.1 percent to 1 percent.

Compared with April 2017, the SA index surged 9.5 percent, which was the largest year-over-year increase since October 2017. Year-to-date, compared with the same four months last year, tonnage increased 8 percent, far outpacing the annual gain of 3.8 percent in 2017.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 109.2 in April, which was 4.8 percent below the previous month (114.7).

“Truck freight tonnage remains robust,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “And I don’t think we’ve even seen the traditional spring freight season yet. People are just getting around to buying grills, lawn mowers, and yard tools. Plus, the produce season was also delayed due to a cold snap in early spring. Longer-term, strength in consumption, factory output and construction should keep truck freight tonnage solid for the quarters ahead.”

Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 70.6 percent of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled nearly 10.5 billion tons of freight in 2016. Motor carriers collected $676.2 billion, or 79.8 percent of total revenue earned by all transport modes.