November Truck Tonnage Gains 3.9%
Truck tonnage rose 3.9% in November from a year ago, the 12th straight year-over-year increase, but slipped slightly from October, American Trucking Associations said.
The upturn left the index at a reading of 109.7, ATA said in its monthly seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index. The index uses the year 2000 as its baseline reading of 100.
November’s index fell 0.1% from October, and ATA revised October’s monthly gain to 0.9%, from a previously reported 1.8%.
Tonnage is up 5.9% for the year compared with the same period in 2009, slightly lower than last month’s 6.1% difference, the group said.
Focusing on the month-to-month decrease, ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said that he is not over concerned.
“Tonnage increased [on a month-to-month basis] for two consecutive months in September and October and I don’t expect volumes to rise every month,” he said. “The decrease in November is much smaller than the gains during the previous two months”
ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.
