JOC Staff | Feb 19, 2013 4:21PM EST
The American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 2.9 percent in January, after increasing 2.4 percent in December 2012.
Tonnage has jumped at least 2.4 percent every month since November 2012, gaining a total of 9.1 percent over that period. As a result, the index equaled 125.2 in January, compared with 121.7 in December. Compared with January 2012, the index rose 6.5 percent.
“The trucking industry started 2013 with a bang, reflected in the best January tonnage report in five years,” said Bob Costello, ATA’s chief economist, in a written statement. In January, trucking likely benefited from an inventory destocking that transpired in late 2012, thereby boosting volumes more than usual in early 2013, as businesses replenish lean inventories, Costello explained.