ATA: Truck Tonnage Edged Down in August from July


   
Maria Eugenia Garcia
DTN Energy Editor

   HOUSTON, TX (DTN) -- American Trucking Associations' advanced seasonally 
adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index dropped 0.5% to 112.7 in August after 
dropping 1.2% in July. 

   "The truck market has certainly flipped this year, but recent tonnage levels 
confirm this is due to reduced capacity, not robust demand," said ATA Chief 
Economist Bob Costello. 

   "Truck tonnage was down in four of the last five months. It is down 4.3% 
from the recent peak in March, and it has fallen from year-earlier levels in 
three of the last four months. Because of all the supply constraints, however, 
the market is generally better," Costello said.

   The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage 
actually hauled by fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 116.1 in 
August, below July's reading of 116.7.

   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 72.7% 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. ATA calculates the tonnage index based on surveys from 
its membership and has been doing so since the 1970s.




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