by Calculated Risk on 5/27/2014 07:43:00 PM
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
ATA Trucking Index increased in April
Here is a minor indicator that I follow, from ATA: ATA Truck Tonnage Index Increased 1.5% in April
The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 1.5% in April, after rising 0.6% the previous month. In April, the index equaled 129.1 (2000=100) versus 127.2 in March. The all-time high was in November 2013 (131.0).
Compared with April 2013, the SA index increased 4.8%, which is the largest year-over-year gain of 2014.
...
“April was the third straight gain in tonnage totaling 4%,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. Tonnage is off 1.4% from the all-time high in November.
“I’m pleased that tonnage has been making solid progress after falling a total of 5.2% in December and January,” he said. “And April’s nice gain was better than the contraction in industrial production and the lackluster retail sales during the same month.”
emphasis added
![ATA Trucking](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtvoV5TXGP4zcmZ44-5Ac2Jl2RN1VEUOsarz-Cja-Dahjk7YuTzeMXaT6OC69rLMJTDo7tZ8AzrfNQMXBGgxCdgnyTuqJ5iFThwmPpLhvRycfzOAhiJDfbnfOf-lnWe0J5M0BD/s320/ATATruckingApr2014.jpg)
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 has rebounded following the sharp decline during the winter and is now up 4.8% year-over-year.