by Calculated Risk on 1/29/2011 08:55:00 AM

From the American Trucking Association: ATA Truck Tonnage Index Jumped 2.2 Percent in December

The American Trucking Associations’ advance seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.2 percent in December after falling a revised 0.6 percent in November. The latest improvement put the SA index at 111.6 (2000=100) in December, which was the highest level since September 2008. In November, the SA index equaled 109.2.
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ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said that December’s improvement fits well with the see-saw pattern that many carriers are reporting. “Fleets continue to tell me that freight volumes are very choppy – up one week, but down the next. That is a trend that is likely to continue this year as the economy is not growing across the board yet.” Still, Costello said it was a positive sign for the economy that SA tonnage reached the highest level in 27 months. “I continue to expect truck freight tonnage to grow modestly during the first half of 2011 and accelerate in the later half of the year into 2012.”

Click on map for graph gallery.

This graph from the ATA shows the Truck Tonnage Index since Jan 2006.

This is the highest level since September 2008 - and it appears truck tonnage is increasing again after stalling out last spring and summer.