ATA’s Truck Tonnage Index Falls 3% in December

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

merican Trucking Associations’ for-hire truck tonnage index dropped 3% in December, as automakers trimmed production.

The advanced, seasonally adjusted December decline followed a 2.3% gain in November. It marked the first TTI decline since August and represented the largest monthly contraction of 2005, ATA said Friday.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the index fell to 113.3 from 116.9 in November. On a not-seasonally adjusted basis, it contracted 8.1% from November to 106.2.

Despite the monthly decline, the December tonnage index stands 0.6% higher than a year earlier, ATA said. For 2005, the index rose 2% compared with 2004.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said weakness in the automotive sector likely impacted December's tonnage reading. He said that while total manufacturing output was solid late last year, manufacturing output was not as strong.

"The magnitude of December's reduction came as a surprise [but] I continue to believe that tonnage will grow in 2006,” Costello said.

ATA’s economics department calculates the monthly tonnage index based on surveys of its members.