Truck Tonnage Rises 5.5% in September

American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index rose 5.5 percent in September when measured against the same month in 2021, the ATA reported to Food Shippers of America (FSA) earlier this week. On a sequential basis it rose .5% from August.

September’s index of 118.8 compared with 118.2 in August. (It equaled 100 in 2015.)

ATA’s For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight.

This latest gain put tonnage at the highest level since August 2019 and the third-highest level on record, according to a press release sent by the ATA on the index Oct. 18.

“This is another example of how the contract freight market remains strong despite weakness in the spot market this year,” reported ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello, who regularly speaks at FSA’s annual conference and is considered one of FSA’s most respected guest authorities on the trucking marketplace. “During the third quarter, tonnage increased 0.5% over the second quarter while increasing 5.6 percent over the same period in 2021. That was the largest quarterly year-over-year increase since the second quarter of 2018.”

The increase in September is the 13th consecutive year-over-year gain. In August, the index was up 6.7 percent from 2021. For the first nine months of 2022, truck tonnage was up 4 percent compared with the same period a year ago.

ATA calculates the tonnage index based on surveys from its membership and has been doing so since the 1970s. This is a preliminary figure and subject to change in the final report issued around the 5th day of each month. The report includes month-to-month and year-over-year results, relevant economic comparisons, and key financial indicators.

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