Road freight movements continue to point to a recovering economy, with levels higher than the same time last year.
Photo: 123RF
ANZ Bank Truckometer data for October showed the Light Traffic Index - an indicator looking forward six months - lifted 0.6 percent, while Heavy Traffic, a real time indicator, eased 3 percent on last month.
In broad terms, heavy traffic primarily reflected the movement of goods, while light traffic captured the movement of people.
ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said the indexes now appeared to be settling after a volatile year.
"Like many charts of economic data, the Truckometer charts have been somewhat mangled by the lockdown period. However, they clearly show the story of 2020: a sudden stop, a sharp rebound, renewed restrictions, and renewed catch-up activity."
The Heavy Traffic Index in October was 7.1 percent higher than a year ago, while the Light Traffic Index was 5.9 percent higher.
"This overshoot may dissipate over coming months as there are some aspects of this shock that are yet to play out fully. We estimate the closed border knocks out about 5 percent of GDP, but this will hit disproportionately over the summer.
"The impact on traffic is even more difficult to estimate."
Zollner said the Truckometer data was consistent with the recently business outlook from the bank which showed while the economy had regained considerable momentum, there was still caution about what might be around the corner."
