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Truck tonnage in August surged 7.4% to 119 when measured against the same month a year ago, and on a sequential basis it rose 2.8% from July, according to American Trucking Associations.
The federation’s For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight.
In August, the index was 119 versus 115.8 in July. (It equaled 100 in 2015.)
ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello released the index Sept. 20, and said the year-over-year increase was the largest gain since 2018 and the month-over-month jump is the biggest since 2019.
Costello
“Tonnage snapped back in August after a weaker than expected July,” Costello said. “With the economy in transition to slower growth and changing consumer patterns, we may see more volatility in the months ahead. But the good news is that we continue to witness areas of freight growth in consumer spending and manufacturing, which is helping to offset the weakness in new home construction.”
The August increase is the 12th consecutive year-over-year gain, and Costello pointed out that the index in July also was up 4.7% from a year earlier. For the first eight months, the index is up 3.9% when measured against 2021 results.
Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 72.5% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 10.23 billion tons of freight in 2020. Motor carriers collected $732.3 billion, or 80.4% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.
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