Paul Taggart/Bloomberg News
The Cass Freight Index, which measures shipment activity in trucking and other transport modes, declined 3.2% in December from a year ago. Expenditures increased 1% from 2012.
Expenditures — freight payments to carriers by shippers that are processed by Cass — declined 5.4% from November, St. Louis-based Cass Information Systems said.
Month-to-month, shipments fell 6.2% from November, the third consecutive decline and largest drop in 2013.
“Despite the fact that there were fewer shipments in 2013, other indicators, such as the American Trucking Associations’ Truck Tonnage Index, have shown that loads have been getting heavier. This matches well with anecdotal evidence from [less-than-truckload carriers] that they are carrying fuller loads,” Cass said in its report.
