ATA: Truck tonnage tumbles in September

Trucking activity in the United States decreased in September, pushing the level down to the lowest in three months. Specifically, truck freight tonnage declined 0.9% after gaining 0.9% in August and 1.1% in July, according to the American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.

“Tonnage levels remain choppy, but they are up 2.1% since hitting a low in January,” Bob Costello, ATA chief economist, said in a news release. “Compared to the high three years earlier, however, truck tonnage is still off by 3.9%. In fact, September’s tonnage level was essentially the same as in September 2023, underscoring the tough freight market over the last few years.”

In September, the ATA advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 114.2, down from 115.3 in August. The index, which is based on 2015 as 100, rose 0.8% from the same month last year after increasing 0.4% in August. Year-to-date, compared with the same period in 2024, tonnage was up 0.2%.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which calculates raw changes in tonnage hauled, equaled 114.7 in September, 2.6% below August’s reading of 117.7, ATA added.

Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 72.7% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 11.27 billion tons of freight in 2024. Motor carriers collected $906 billion, or 76.9% 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 on surveys from its membership and has been doing so since the 1970s.