ANZ Truckometer

The ANZ Truckometer is a set of two economic indicators derived using traffic volume data from around the country. 

Traffic flows are a real time and real-world proxy for economic activity – particularly for the New Zealand economy, where a large proportion of freight is moved by road. It represents an extremely timely barometer of economic momentum. The ANZ Heavy Traffic Index shows a strong contemporaneous relationship to GDP, while the ANZ Light Traffic Index has a six month lead on activity as measured by GDP. Using statistical techniques we optimise the ANZ Truckometer indexes to map to quarterly GDP growth.

2024 editions

December 2024

The Light Traffic Index (LTI) was unchanged in November, while the more volatile Heavy Traffic Index (HTI) fell 2.5%. Heavy traffic is up 1.2% y/y, while light traffic is up 0.1% y/y.


November 2024

The Light Traffic Index (LTI) rose 1.3% m/m in October, while the Heavy Traffic Index (HTI) rose 3.0% m/m. Heavy traffic is down 0.1% y/y, while light traffic is down 0.4% y/y.


October 2024

The Light Traffic Index (LTI) fell 1.0% m/m in September, while the Heavy Traffic Index (HTI) fell 1.8%. Heavy traffic is up 0.6% y/y, while light traffic is down 1.1% y/y.


September 2024

The Light Traffic Index (LTI) lifted 0.6% m/m, while the Heavy Traffic Index (HTI) fell 0.7%


August 2024

The Light Traffic Index (LTI) lifted 1.5% m/m in July, while the Heavy Traffic Index (HTI) recovered much of its June fall, rising 6.1%.


July 2024

The Light Traffic Index (LTI) fell 2.2% m/m in June, while the Heavy Traffic Index (HTI) fell a sharp 5.2% m/m on top of a fall in May.


June 2024

The Light Traffic Index (LTI) fell 0.4% m/m in May, while the Heavy Traffic Index (HTI) fell 2.3% m/m.


May 2024

The Light Traffic Index (LTI) fell 1.3% m/m in April, while the Heavy Traffic Index (HTI) rose 0.3% m/m after falling the previous month. Unusually, the trend in heavy traffic has been steadier than GDP data over the last couple of years. Unlike per capita GDP, it looks nothing like 2008.


April 2024

The Light Traffic Index (LTI) rose 0.1% m/m in March, while the Heavy Traffic Index (HTI) fell 1.8% m/m after a couple of strong months. While both indices have a mild upward trend, in per capita terms light traffic is trending down while heavy traffic is pretty flat.


March 2024

The Light Traffic Index (LTI) rose 1.9% m/m in February, while the Heavy Traffic Index (HTI) rose 2.4% in the month. While both indices have a mild upward trend, in per capita terms they are both trending down.


February 2024

The Light Traffic Index (LTI) rose 0.6% m/m in January, while the Heavy Traffic Index (HTI) rose 2.7% in the month. The Heavy Traffic Index is holding up better in per capita terms.


January 2024

The Light Traffic Index (LTI) fell 2.2% m/m in December, and is down 1.4% for the quarter, while the Heavy Traffic Index (HTI) fell 2.1% in the month, and flat-lined in the quarter. We estimate that both light and heavy traffic has fallen over the past year in per capita terms.