ATA: Truck tonnage decreases 1.2% in April

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index declined 1.2% in April after decreasing 2.2% in March.

In April, the index equaled 111.7 (2015=100) compared with 113.1 in March, ATA reported.

“The truck freight market remained soft in April as seasonally adjusted volumes fell for the second straight month,” Bob Costello, ATA’s chief economist, said in a news release. “With a rebound in freight remaining elusive, it is likely that additional capacity will leave the industry in the face of continued softness in the market.”

Compared with April 2023, the index fell 1.5%, which was the 14th straight year-over-year decline. In March, the index was down 1.3% from a year earlier.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage hauled by fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 112.2 in April, 1.7% below March. ATA’s For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight.

In calculating the index, 100 represents 2015.

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.

ATA calculates the tonnage index based on surveys from its membership and has been doing so since the 1970s.