ATA: 2013 truck tonnage ends on ‘high note’

   The American Trucking Associations reported a small 0.6-percent increase in its for-hire truck tonnage index for December, after seeing a 4.7-percent increase in November.
   “Tonnage ended 2013 on a high note, which fits with many economic indicators as trucking is an excellent reflection of the tangible goods economy,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “The final quarter was the strongest we’ve seen in a couple of years, rising 2.2 percent from the third quarter and 9.1 percent from a year earlier.” 
   Costello said he sees more broad-based gains.
  “The improvement is not limited to the tank truck and flatbed sectors like earlier in the year,” he said. “With manufacturing and consumer spending picking up, coupled with solid volumes from hydraulic fracturing, I look for tonnage to be good in 2014 as well.”