by Calculated Risk on 9/27/2011 04:53:00 PM

From ATA: ATA Truck Tonnage Index Edged 0.2% Lower in August

The American Trucking Associations’ advance seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index declined 0.2% in August after falling a revised 0.8% in July 2011. July’s decrease was less than the 1.3% ATA reported on August 23, 2011. The latest drop put the SA index at 114.4 (2000=100) in August, down from the July level of 114.6.
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Compared with August 2010, SA tonnage was up a solid 5.2%. In July, the tonnage index was 4.5% above a year earlier.

“Freight has been going sideways for much of this year, but it isn’t falling significantly either, which suggests the U.S. economy just might skirt another recession,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said.

Click on graph for larger image in graph gallery.

Here is a long term graph that shows ATA's For-Hire Truck Tonnage index.

The dashed line is the current level of the index. From ATA:

Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 67.2% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 9 billion tons of freight in 2010. Motor carriers collected $563.4 billion, or 81.2% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.

Moving sideways all year ...

Earlier:
• CoreLogic: Existing Home Shadow Inventory Declines to 1.6 million units
• Case Shiller: Home Prices increased Seasonally in July
• Real House Prices and House Price-to-Rent