WASHINGTON — The American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) Truck Tonnage Index saw a rise in December, marking the second month of numbers moving in a positive direction.
“Despite two consecutive gains, tonnage remains at low levels as the freight metric contracted a total of 2.7% in September and October,” said Bob Costello, ATA chief economist. “Soft manufacturing and construction activity are continuing to suppress freight levels, as they did for much of last year. For 2025 in total, tonnage rose just 0.1% over the 2024 average, although it was the first annual gain since 2022.”
Trucking activity in the United States increased slightly, but volumes remained at low levels after significant declines in September and October. Specifically, truck freight tonnage increased 0.4% after rising 0.2% in November, according to the ATA’s advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.
“In December, the ATA advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 112.9, up from 112.4 in November,” ATA said. “The index, which is based on 2015 as 100, increased 0.9% from the same month in 2024 after decreasing the two previous months on a year-over-year basis. For the fourth quarter, the index average fell 1.8% from the third quarter, the largest sequential quarterly decline since the second quarter of 2023, and was down 0.3% from the final three months in 2024.”
November’s SA gain was unchanged from what was first reported in ATA’s Dec. 23 press release.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which calculates raw changes in tonnage hauled, equaled 111.9 in December, 4.3% above November’s reading of 107.3.
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