American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 1% in November after increasing 0.8% in October.
In November, the index equaled 113.7 (2015=100) compared with 114.9 in October, ATA said.
“We continued to see a choppy 2023 for truck tonnage into November,” Bob Costello, ATA chief economist, said in a news release. “It seems like every time freight improves, it takes a step back the following month. While year-over-year comparisons are improving, unfortunately, the freight market remains in a recession.
“Looking ahead, with retail inventories falling, we should see less of a headwind for retail freight, but I’m also not expecting a surge in freight levels in the coming months.”
Compared with November 2022, the SA index fell 1.2%, which was the ninth straight year-over-year decrease. In October, the index was down 2.4% from a year earlier.
The not-seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 113.2 in November, 5.1% below the October level (119.3). In calculating the index, 100 represents 2015. ATA’s For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight.
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.
