Each week, Americans parse a slew of common economic indicators, such as jobless claims and mortgage applications, to grasp the state of the economy. Those indicators lately have pointed to a U.S. recovery gradually picking up momentum. But that strength is also showing up in some less widely followed data points.
Like truck tonnage.
Last year, American truckers hauled 6.2 percent more tonnage than the year before, the best showing since 1998, according to the latest figures released Wednesday by the American Trucking Association. A pickup in those numbers in the second half of the year bodes well for 2014.
Trucking is a good barometer for the overall U.S. economy because more than two-thirds of American manufactured and retail goods are carried by over-the-road freight transportation.
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Mingze Wu
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