TRUCKING STATISTICS * USA - Truck Tonnage Rises 4.8% in April

Washington,DC,USA -Transport Topics -25 May 2011: -- Truck tonnage rose 4.8% in April from a year ago, American Trucking Associations said in its monthly seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage report...  Month-to-month, the index decreased 0.7% in April...  The index came in at a reading of 114.9, down from 115.6 in March, with the year 2000 as a baseline reading of 100. January’s 116.6 reading had been the highest in three years...  ATA Chief Economist, Bob Costello, said he expects economic activity, along with truck freight levels, to grow moderately in coming months...  ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies...

* Truckload Rates 'Firm' Despite Falling Loads

New York,NY,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by William B. Cassidy -May 25, 2011: -- Truckload carriers are holding onto rate increases despite a decline in truck tonnage and loads, according to a report from Jefferies Equity Research Americas... Despite slower load growth, dry van truckload pricing jumped 9.6 percent in March, compared with an 8.1 percent gain from a year ago in February, Jefferies said... Tonnage was up in March, but growth in truckloads decelerated from a 4.1 percent year-over-year increase in February to 1.7 percent in March, the research firm said... Truckload revenue per mile, net of fuel, was up 6.2 percent in March... Jefferies said American Trucking Associations data show rates for loads shipped fewer than 500 miles were down 3.9 percent year-over-year in March... The seasonally adjusted ATA For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index dropped 0.7 percent in April after climbing 1.9 percent in March. Durable goods shipments also declined... While some analysts argue a looming capacity crunch will drive up rates, Nesvold said sustained price increases will depend more on higher truckload demand...