ATA TruckingIndexdeclinesinOctober, Up 8% Year-over-year
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Here is a minor indicator that I follow, from ATA: ATA TruckTonnageIndexDecreased 2.8% inOctober

TheAmericanTruckingAssociations’ advancedseasonallyadjustedFor-HireTruckTonnageIndexfell 2.8% inOctober, the first decrease since July. … In October, the index equaled 124 (2000=100) versus 127.5 in September. October’s level was the lowest since April. ComparedwithOctober 2012, theSAindexsurged 8%, whichisthelargestyear-over-yeargainsinceDecember 2011.

…
“From May through September, the index surged 3.5%, including only one monthly decrease over that period,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “It isn’t surprising for volumes to fall back some after such a good run.”

“DespiteOctober’smonth-to-monthdecrease, wesaw a veryrobustyear-over-yearincreaseand I’m seeingsomegoodsignsoutofthetruckingindustrythatsuggeststheeconomymay be a littlestrongerthanwethink,” he said. “Specifically, the heavy freight sectors, like tank truck, have been helping tonnage this year. But in the third quarter, generic dry van truckload freight saw the best quarterly gains since 2010. I view this positively for the economy. I view it positively for trucking. Now, we have to see if it continues.”

emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

Here is a long term graph that shows ATA’s For-Hire Truck Tonnage index.

The dashed line is the current level of the index.

The index is up solidly year-over-year. This monthly decline might have been related to the government shutdown.

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