Goods carried by US trucks declined last month

Total goods shipped by trucks in the U.S. fell 3 percent last month, a major industry trade group said, marking the fourth consecutive month-over-month decline.

The American Trucking Associations said Monday its seasonally adjusted tonnage index, which measures the weight of freight hauled by U.S. truckers based on membership surveys, fell to its lowest level in five years in October.

"October should be the busiest month of the year, but instead this October was a fizzle," said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. "The latest truck tonnage drop suggests that retailers are very pessimistic for the holiday sales season."

Costello said the accelerated weakening of tonnage in October suggests that shipments in the fourth quarter might be unexpectedly slow as well.

Truckers serve as a gauge of U.S. economy health because they haul about 70 percent of manufactured and retail goods.