Truck tonnage trends down in November, reports American Trucking Associations
November truck tonnage data, which was released this week by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), again saw sequential declines and annual gains.
The ATA’s advanced Seasonally Adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, for November, came in at 114.7 (2015=100), down 2.5% compared to October’s 117.6 reading (which was upwardly revised from an initial reading of 116.3), following a 1.2% decline, from September to October.
The November SA reading eked out a 0.8% annual increase, marking its 15th consecutive annual monthly gain, as well as its smallest gain over that period, with October seeing a 4% annual increase. On a year-to-date basis through November, SA tonnage is up 3.7%.
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, came in at 114.6 in November, down 4.6% compared to October’s 120.2 reading. ATA bases its NSA tonnage reading on a baseline with 100 representing 2015, adding that its For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight.
“For-hire truck tonnage saw the largest single monthly decrease in November since the start of the pandemic and a total drop of 3.7% in October and November,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello in a statement. “The decreases match anecdotal reports of a soft fall freight season as well as a slowing goods-economy generally. Housing-related freight is particularly weak.”
