not that we needed any further proof

Congratulations! It’s the “worst recession in decades“:

The American Trucking Associations (ATA) reported for-hire truck tonnage plummeted 11.1 percent in December, the largest month-to-month drop since April 1994, and the third-largest decline since the ATA began collecting this data in 1973.

Compared with December 2007, the index declined 14.1 percent, the biggest year-over-year decrease since February 1996. During the fourth quarter, tonnage was down 6 percent from the same quarter in 2007, the ATA reported.

“Motor carrier freight is a reflection of the tangible-goods economy, and December’s numbers leave no doubt that the United States is in the worst recession in decades,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello.

“It is likely truck tonnage will not improve much before the third quarter of this year. The economy is expected to contract through the first half of 2009 and then only grow slightly through the end of the year,” he said.

The ATA said trucking serves as a barometer for the U.S. economy, representing nearly 70 percent of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 10.7 billion tons of freight in 2006. Motor carriers collected $645.6 billion, or 83.8 percent of total revenue earned by all transport modes, the ATA reported.

Now would be a good time to kick some Republican ass, President Obama.