ARLINGTON, Va. -- US for-hire truck tonnage surged 3.1% in January, according to the latest figures from the American Trucking Associations.
That follows a revised 1.3% increase in December, 2009. January's tonnage was the highest recorded since September 2008, the ATA reports.
Seasonally-adjusted truck tonnage was 5.7% better than last January, which was the best year-over-year reading since January 2005. For 2009 as a whole, the tonnage index was down 8.7% - the largest annual decrease since the 12.3% plunge recorded in 1982.
"While I don't expect tonnage to continue growing as robustly as it did in January, the industry is finally moving in the right direction," confirmed ATA chief economist Bob Costello. "Although there are still risks that could throw the rebound off track, the likelihood of that happening continues to diminish."