WASHINGTON — The American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 2.1% in September after rising 1.7% in August. In September, the index equaled 113.2 (2015=100) compared with 115.6 in August.
“After increasing a total of 2.1% in July and August, tonnage fell by that amount in September,” said Bob Costello, ATA’s chief economist.
“Freight has been very choppy this year, but despite the latest drop, tonnage is up 1.8% since hitting a low in January,” he said. “No doubt, the climb up has been slow and difficult as manufacturing activity remains flat, but the trend is up, not down.”
August’s increase was revised down slightly from ATA’s Sept. 24 press release.
Compared with September 2023, the index fell 0.9%, after rising 0.6% in August from a year earlier.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 111.6 in September, 6.4% below August. ATA’s For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as opposed to traditional spot market freight.
Linda Garner-Bunch has been in publishing for more than 30 years. You name it, Linda has written about it. She has served as an editor for a group of national do-it-yourself publications and has coordinated the real estate section of Arkansas’ only statewide newspaper, in addition to working on a variety of niche publications ranging from bridal magazines to high-school sports previews and everything in between. She is also an experienced photographer and copy editor who enjoys telling the stories of the “Knights of the Highway,” as she calls our nation’s truck drivers.
