Truck Tonnage Rises 3.6% in January
Truck tonnage rose 3.6% in January from the same month last year, American Trucking Associations said.
January tonnage fell 4% from December, ATA said in its monthly seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage report released Tuesday.
Tonnage rose 5.8% for last year, ATA said, slightly revising downward its previous 5.9% figure. The 2011 gain matched 2010’s increase.
The seasonally adjusted index for January was a reading of 119.4, down from December’s record level of 124.4.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents actual tonnage, was 112.1 in January. ATA uses the year 2000 as a 100-reading baseline.
ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello, who previously said he was surprised by December’s big gain, said he was “not surprised that tonnage fell on a seasonally adjusted basis in January simply due to the fact that December was so strong.”
Costello, who noted that December’s increase had been the largest month-to-month gain since January 2005, said he was “optimistic about truck tonnage going forward. In fact, while many fleets said January was normal, they are also saying that February has been pretty good so far.”
ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.
