Econintersect: The American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) trucking index fell 1.1% month-over-month in April 2012 following a 0.6% rise in March. Compared with April 2011, seasonally adjusted tonnage was up 3.5%. Please note that the ATA does not release an unadjusted data series where Econintersect can make an independent evaluation.
From the press release:
“While April’s decrease was a little disappointing, the March gain turned out to be stronger than originally thought,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said. “The ups and downs so far this year are similar to other economic indicators.”
“While just one month, the April’s decrease also matches with an economy that is likely to grow slightly slower in the second quarter than in the first quarter,” he said. Costello reiterated last month’s noting that the industry should not expect the rate of growth seen over the last couple of years, when tonnage grew 5.8% in both 2010 and 2011. “I continue to expect tonnage to moderate from the pace over the last two years. Annualized growth in the 3% to 3.9% seems more likely.”
Econintersect tries to validate data across data sources. The increases in tonnage seem to correlate with truck transport employment since 2010.
source: ATA
