Truck Tonnage Gains Largest in 13 Years

A truck tonnage index in 2011 posted its largest annual increase since 1998, the American Trucking Associations reported recently.

The ATA’s For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 5.9 percent over 2010.

For December, increased manufacturing and retail activity helped push tonnage up 10.9 percent over December 2010.

That’s the largest year-over-year increase since July 1998.

ATA chief economist Bob Costello said he wasn’t surprised that tonnage increased in December, but was surprised by the magnitude of the gain.

“Not only did truck tonnage increase due to solid manufacturing output in December, but also from some likely inventory restocking,” Costello said. “Inventories, especially at the retail level, are exceedingly lean, and I suspect that tonnage was higher than expected as the supply chain did some restocking during the month.”

Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing about 67 percent of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods.

The ATA calculates the tonnage index based on membership surveys. The largest national trade association for the trucking industry, it’s made up of 50 state trucking associations, industry-related conferences and councils.