The American Trucking Associations' advance seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index fell 0.2 percent in October, its second consecutive monthly drop.
Prior to September's 0.3 percent fall, the index had increased 2.1 percent in both July and August.

The latest reading lands the index at 103.6, down from September's 103.8. (The year 2000 is the base year at 100).

While tonnage was down 5.2 percent from the year-ago month, this is best year-over-year showing since November 2008. In September, the index was down 7.3 percent from a year earlier.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, was up 1.6 percent from September, to 109.6.

According to Bob Costello, ATA chief economist, the latest reading indicates that the recovery is still trying to gain balance, although it is on more solid ground than a year ago.

"Repeating what I said last month, the trucking industry should not be alarmed by the small decreases in September and October," Costello said. "The economy is behaving as expected, with starts and stops. This is being reflected in truck tonnage, as well as most economic indicators."

The industry will experience ups and down in the months ahead, he said, but we should expect to see modest improvement. "Since consumer spending and manufacturing are not surging, trucking shouldn't expect robust growth either. However, both retail sales and manufacturing output are exhibiting mild upward trend lines, which is the path I expect truck freight to take."