Trucking activity in the United States rose modestly in October, marking the third increase since July, according to the American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.
“The slow and choppy climb off of the bottom continued in October,” Bob Costello, ATA chief economist, said in a news release. “Since hitting a low in January of this year, tonnage is up a total of 3%, plus the index is up sequentially in three of the last four months. No doubt the freight market has improved—albeit slowly—over the course of the year.”
In October, the Truck Tonnage Index equaled 114.6 compared with 113.3 in September. The index, which is based on 2015 as 100, equaled the reading from the same month last year, ATA reported.
The non-seasonally adjusted index, which calculates raw changes in tonnage hauled, equaled 121.3 in October, 8.6% above September.
The seasonally adjusted increase follows a decline in September.
Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 72.6% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 11.46 billion tons of freight in 2022. Motor carriers collected $940.8 billion, or 80.7% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.
Both indices are dominated by contract freight, as opposed to traditional spot market freight.