January uptick in trucking index no relief for trucking economist

Not even officials with a national trucking association are willing to get excited about a gain in a January activity index.

The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index climbed 3% in January 2009, marking only the second month-to-month increase in the past seven months.

“Tonnage will not fall every month, and just because it rises every now and then doesn’t mean the economy is on the mend,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Furthermore, tonnage is contracting significantly on a year-over-year basis, which is highlighting the current weakness in the freight environment.”

Costello said any sustained recovery in tonnage is still months away.

Compared with January 2008, the index declined 10.8%, which was slightly better than December’s 12.5% year-over-year drop.
 
Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing nearly 70 percent of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods, according to the ATA. Trucks hauled 10.7 billion tons of freight in 2006. Motor carriers collected $645.6 billion, or 83.8 percent of total revenue earned by all transport modes.
 
The American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups, industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States.