Trucking activity in the United States contracted in November, marking only the second decrease since July, according to the American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index.
“The frustratingly choppy freight environment continued in November,” Bob Costello, ATA chief economist, said in a news release. “Since hitting a low in January [2024], tonnage is up a total of 1.1%, but the path has been fraught with nice gains one month only to come back down the next.
“The good news is that the overall trend … is up, albeit at a slow rate.”
In November, the ATA advanced seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index equaled 112.5 compared with 114.6 in October. The index, which is based on 2015 as 100, was down 1% from the same month in 2023.
The non-seasonally adjusted index, which calculates raw changes in tonnage hauled, equaled 109.6 in November, 9.6% below October, ATA said.
The seasonally adjusted decrease follows a sequential 1.2% gain in October.
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. The tonnage index is calculated using surveys of ATA’s membership.