The American Trucking Associations' (ATA) advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 3.8 percent in October after falling 0.4 percent in September, according to a press release from the ATA on Tuesday. The 0.4 percent decrease in September was revised from a 0.1 percent gain ATA reported on October 23, 2012.
October's drop was the third consecutive totaling 4.7 percent. As a result, the SA index equaled 113.7 (2000=100) in October, the lowest level since May 2011. Compared with October 2011, the SA index was off 2.1 percent, the first year-over-year decrease since November 2009. Year-to-date, compared with the same period last year, tonnage was up 2.9 percent.
"Clearly Hurricane Sandy negatively impacted October's tonnage reading," ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said. "However, it is impossible for us to determine the exact impact."