Winter Trucking Report Indicates a Slow and Steady Economic Recovery

The Winter Trucking Report released from TAB Bank is showing signs of a slow and steady economic recovery according to monthly truck tonnage, fuel costs, perceived business conditions, and invoice size. Historically, trends in trucking and transportation serve as good indicators of the greater economy.

TAB Bank Winter Trucking Report Highlights:

• Diesel prices are at their lowest point since August with a nationwide average of $3.911.
• Sales volume for TAB’s core group of clients reached its highest point of 2012 in October but has since decreased significantly in the months of November and December as the post-holiday shipping season settles in.
• For fourth quarter of 2012, total industrial production moved up at an annual rate of 1.0 percent.
• Average invoice size for TAB’s core group of clients retreated below $1,000 for the first time since September as carriers adjust the fuel surcharge portion of the invoice to account for decreasing diesel prices.
• Collections of unpaid invoices for TAB’s core group of clients reached their lowest point of 2012 in October at 27.47 days but have steadily grown once more to end the year at 30.69 days.

“We continue to see a mixed bag of industry indicators as the economic recovery continues to unfold within the trucking industry and the economy at large.  For example, diesel prices ended the year at their lowest point in months and the Industrial Production Index continues to show steady increases with a 1.0 percent annual increase during the last three months of the year. Our core group of clients posted their strongest sales in October in the past 12 months but that was followed with significant decreases in activity for the months of November and December,” said Eric Myers, TAB Bank vice president of Marketing. “The trucking industry is and will continue to be a great barometer for overall economic growth. As the trucking industry experiences growth, the overall economy can expect to follow suit. The economy has rebounded since the statistical low points of 2008 and 2009 but the recovery continues to develop at a slow, but still steady rate.”

While FDIC-insured TAB Bank provides alternative funding services to a variety of industries like manufacturing, staffing, and technology, the company’s first industry was transportation. TAB Bank releases a Trucking Report quarterly.