Truck Tonnage Index Jumped 2.8 Percent In December
The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.8 percent in December after surging 3.9 percent in November. (The 3.9 percent gain in November was revised from a 3.7 percent increase ATA reported on December 18, 2012.) The back-to-back increases in November and December were by far the best of gains of 2012. As a result, the SA index equaled 121.6 (2000=100) in December versus 118.3 in November. Despite the solid monthly increase, compared with December 2011, the SA index was off 2.3 percent, the worst year-over-year result since November 2009. For all of 2012, tonnage was up 2.3 percent. In 2011, the index increased 5.8 percent.
“December was better than anticipated in light of the very difficult year-over-year comparison,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said. In December 2011, the index surged 6.4 percent from the previous month. Costello anticipates more sluggishness in the index this year, especially early in the year, as the economy continues to face several headwinds.
