December Truck Tonnage Plunges 14.1%
Truck tonnage plummeted 14.1% in December from the same month last year, the biggest year-over-year decrease since February 1996, American Trucking Associations said late Monday.
The decline in the group’s for-hire seasonally adjusted truck tonnage index marked the third straight year-over-year decline, following 11 straight increases.
The tonnage index lost 11.1% from November’s level, the largest month-to-month drop since April 1994, when the unionized less-than-truckload industry was on strike, ATA said.
“Motor carrier freight is a reflection of the tangible-goods economy, and December’s numbers leave no doubt that the United States is in the worst recession in decades,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello, adding that he does not expect tonnage to improve much before the third quarter of 2009.
ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.
