Economic activity generates and requires transport services - there is a close connection between the economic development in Germany and the freight traffic on German roads. Since the beginning of 2005, a toll has been charged on heavy goods vehicles on federal motorways and later on trunk roads in Germany. As part of toll collection, digital process data is generated, among other things, on the mileage of trucks subject to toll. The data is generated in a combination of mobile technology and satellite positioning system (GPS). A German authority which is responsible for freight traffic has used this data to develop a truck-toll-mileage index, which indicates the mileage for comparable basic characteristics and excludes structural changes as far as possible. Due to its early availability and economic meaningfulness, this index has been included in the publication program of official statistics. This article describes the truck-toll-mileage index as a new element in business cycle statistics and explains its relation to existing short-term statistics. Further, the question is discussed whether the truck-toll-mileage-index can be used as nowcast in the official production statistics.