Trucking volumes in the U.S. kicked off 2013 on a positive note, according to data released by the American Trucking Associations (ATA).
ATA reported that seasonally-adjusted (SA) truck tonnage increased 2.9 percent in January following a 2.4 percent gain in December and a 3.9 percent gain in November. January’s SA is the highest the ATA has recorded.
ATA’s not seasonally-adjusted (NSA) index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by fleets before any seasonal adjustment, was 122.4 in January, which was 10.5 percent ahead of December’s 110.5 and up 10.3 percent compared to January 2012.
“The trucking industry started 2013 with a bang, reflected in the best January tonnage report in five years,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said in a statement. “While I believe that the overall economy will be sluggish in the first quarter, trucking likely benefited in January from an inventory destocking that transpired late last year, thus boosting volumes more than normal early this year as businesses replenish those lean inventories.”
