Truck Tonnage Posts Largest Annual Gain in 13 Years

Truck tonnage rose 5.9% last year over 2010, its biggest annual gain in 13 years, American Trucking Associations said Tuesday.

Tonnage jumped 10.5% in December from a year earlier, ATA said in its monthly seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage report.

On a month-to-month basis, December tonnage was 6.8% higher than November, following a 0.3% monthly gain.

November’s year-over-year gain was revised up slightly, to 6.1% from an originally reported 6% increase.

The seasonally adjusted index for December came in at a reading of 124.5, up from 116.6 in November. ATA uses the year 2000 as a baseline.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which measures actual tonnage, rose 0.8% to a 116.4 reading.
“While I’m not surprised that tonnage increased in December, I am surprised at the magnitude of the gain,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said, noting that it was the largest month-to-month increase since January 2005.


Source: Transport Topics