ATA Truck Tonnage Index sees declines

September truck tonnage volumes saw declines, according to data issued by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) this week.

The ATA’s advanced Seasonally Adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, for September, at 113.9 (2015=100), was down 1.1%, following a 0.2% increase, to 115.3, in from July to August.

On an annual basis, the September SA reading was down 4.1%, marking the seventh straight annual decrease and also the largest one over that span. This followed a 2.4% annual SA decline in August.  

The ATA’s not seasonally-adjusted (NSA) index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by fleets before any seasonal adjustment and the metric ATA says fleets should benchmark their levels with, was 112.5 in September, which was down 6.8% compared to August’s 120.7.

ATA bases its NSA tonnage reading on a baseline with 100 representing 2015, adding that the For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight.

“After hitting a bottom in April, tonnage increased in three of the previous four months, gaining a total of 2.2% before September’s drop,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello in a statement. “However, this freight market remains in flux, and the index contracted by 1.1% in September, which erased half of those gains. Additionally, the year-over-year decrease was the largest drop since November 2020 on a very difficult comparison—September 2022—which was the previous cycle high. While it is likely a bottom has been hit in truck freight tonnage, there could still be choppy waters ahead as the freight market remains volatile.”