December Truck Tonnage Rises 1.4%
Truck tonnage in December rose 1.4% from a year ago, American Trucking Associations said in its seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index.
Combined with November’s 3.3% gain, it marked the first sequential year-over-year increases since May and June 2006.
The tonnage index for 2007 fell 1.4%, following a 1.7% decline in 2006, ATA said late Friday.
The month-to-month index jumped 4.1% in December 2007, after rising 0.9% in November. The December increase was the largest month-to-month gain since a 6.2% jump in December 2006.
The not seasonally adjusted index fell 8.2% from November, to a reading of 102.7, ATA said.
ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said the final two months of the year were surprisingly good, given the current economic environment, the financial crisis, credit crunch and a weak housing market.
“Both the month-to-month and year-over-year increases were very encouraging,” Costello said.
He placed the odds of a recession at 40% said he believed truck freight volumes will be volatile and lackluster in the first half of 2008.
ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.
