The American Trucking Associations' advance seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 2.7 percent in November, following a 0.2 percent contraction in October.


The latest gain boosted the seasonally adjusted index from 103.6 (2000=100) in October to 106.4, its highest level in a year. The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 100.8 in November, down 8.0 percent from October.

Compared with November 2008, seasonally adjusted tonnage fell 3.5 percent, which was the best year-over-year showing in twelve months. In October, the index was down 5.2 percent from a year earlier.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said tonnage is moving in the right direction. "Slowly, but surely, truck freight has started the recovery process and November's solid increase is a very positive sign," Costello said. He said that November's tonnage levels were pushed higher by improved economic activity, as well as by an inventory correction that is near completion.

"Truck freight had been hurt by both slow economic output and bloated inventories; however, we now have evidence that the inventories are in much better shape, which will not be such a drag on truck freight volumes." Costello continued to be cautious about the future though. "While the economy and trucking is improving, the industry should not get overly excited about the sizeable increase in November. I continue to believe that both the economy and truck tonnage will exhibit starts and stops in the months ahead, but the general trend should be for moderate growth."

Backing up signs of that growth trend, consumer confidence rose in December to a three-month high, the New York-based Conference Board reported Tuesday, as retail sales last week improved 2.3 percent from a year ago. The index of 52.9 is up from a revised 50.6 in November, better than economists' forecasts of a 52.5 reading, according to published reports.