October Tonnage Climbs 4.5%
Truck tonnage in October rose to the second-highest level on record and climbed 4.5% from a year ago, American Trucking Associations reported.
ATA鈥檚 advanced seasonally adjusted for-hire index rose to 132.1, just below the record reading of 132.6 reported in August.
Last month鈥檚 gain tied August for the strongest year-over-year growth recorded this year. It followed a 2.9% gain in September that was revised down from an originally reported 3.7% increase.
On a sequential basis, last month鈥檚 reading rose 0.5% from September.
鈥淭onnage made a nice comeback after declining in September,鈥 ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in the Nov. 18 report. 鈥淭he gain fits with the increases in retail sales and factory output during October, as well as with good anecdotal reports about the fall freight season.鈥
Costello described October鈥檚 reading as a 鈥済ood sign鈥 for the fourth quarter and predicted a 鈥渟olid鈥 fall freight season.
Year-to-date, tonnage has risen 3.2% compared with the first 10 months of 2013.
ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports from its member trucking companies.
