ATA Truck Tonnage Index Slipped 0.3 Percent in September

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Trucking
Associations' advance seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index
decreased 0.3 percent in September, after increasing 2.1 percent in both July
and August. The latest decline lowered the SA index to 103.9 (2000=100). The
not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually
hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 107.9 in
September, up 2 percent from August.

Compared with September 2008, SA tonnage fell 7.3 percent, which was the best
year-over-year showing since November 2008. In August, the index was down 7.5
percent from a year earlier.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said that the latest reading fits with the
premise that the recovery will be moderate and choppy. "The trucking industry
should not be alarmed by the very small decrease in September," Costello
noted. "We took two steps forward in July and August and this was a miniscule
step backward." He added that the industry should be prepared for ups and
downs in the months ahead, but the general trend should be modest improvement.
"Between most economic indicators recovering and less of an overhang in
inventories, I'm confident that the industry is still on the road to
recovery."

Note on the impact of trucking company failures on the index: Each month, ATA
asks its membership the amount of tonnage each carrier hauled, including all
types of freight. The indexes are calculated based on those responses. The
sample includes an array of trucking companies, ranging from small fleets to
multi-billion dollar carriers. When a company in the sample fails, we include
its final month of operation and zero it out for the following month, with the
assumption that the remaining carriers pick up that freight. As a result, it
is close to a net wash and does not end up in a false increase. Nevertheless,
some carriers are picking up freight from failures, and it may have boosted
the index. Due to our correction mentioned above, however, it should be
limited.

Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing nearly 69
percent of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation,
including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 10.2 billion tons of
freight in 2008. Motor carriers collected $660.3 billion, or
83.1 percent of total revenue earned by all transport modes.

ATA calculates the tonnage index based on surveys from its membership and has
been doing so since the 1970s. This is a preliminary figure and subject to
change in the final report issued around the 10th day of the month. The report
includes month-to-month and year-over-year results, relevant economic
comparisons, and key financial indicators.

The American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association
for the trucking industry. Through a federation of other trucking groups,
industry-related conferences, and its 50 affiliated state trucking
associations, ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of
motor carrier in the United States.

SOURCE American Trucking Associations

Connie Heiss of the American Trucking Associations, +1-703-838-8894