Less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier XPO's tonnage officially returned to positive territory in February for the first time since June 2024. The Monday update from the Greenwich, Connecticut-based company followed a second consecutive favorable manufacturing report released earlier in the day.

XPO (NYSE: XPO) reported a 0.2% year-over-year increase in tonnage during February, as a 3% increase in daily shipments was largely offset by a 2.8% decline in weight per shipment. Final January numbers showed tonnage was flat year-over-year, with shipments up 1.2% and weight per shipment down 1.2%.

Management said on a fourth-quarter call in early February that January tonnage would have been 3% higher year-over-year, excluding the impact from severe winter storms. February tonnage was likely negatively impacted by a blizzard that dumped roughly three feet of snow across New England at the end of the month.

The company previously forecast tonnage to be flat year-over-year in the first quarter.

Manufacturing data released Monday showed industrial activity was positive for the second time this year. The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) registered a 52.4 reading in February, 20 basis points lower than January. (A reading above 50 signals expansion while one below 50 indicates contraction.) The dataset has largely been underwater for more than three years.

The new orders subindex, an indicator of future activity, came in at 55.8. (Inflections in PMI data usually lead LTL volumes by a few months.)