The latest release of ACT Research’s for-hire trucking index indicated that February’s volume reading showed growth at a slower rate from January’s three-year high, falling 57.1 points. That reading was still over four points above the rolling 12-month average.

“That is the second consecutive above-trend reading in what is typically a slow freight month,” said Kenny Vieth, president and senior analyst at ACT Research.

Modest improvements in pricing continued into the second month of the year, with the index virtually unchanged from January. February marked the fifth consecutive month of positive price index readings. Like the volume index, fleet productivity grew at a slower rate at 52.9 in February, following the significant increase at the beginning of the year.