ARLINGTON, Va. —  American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) for-hire truck tonnage index was down 0.2% in February after increasing 2.5% in January.

In February, the index equaled 117.4 (2015=100) compared with 117.6 in January.

“After a strong January, I’m a pleasantly surprised that the index didn’t fall much last month,” said ATA chief economist Bob Costello. “I continue to expect tonnage to moderate like other indicators, including retail sales, manufacturing activity and housing starts. Additionally, the level of inventories throughout the supply chain have increased, which is a drag on truck freight.”

Compared with February 2018, the SA index increased 5.4%, down from January’s 5.8% gain. In 2018, the index increased 6.7% over 2017, which was the largest annual gain since 1998.