Truck tonnage rises as contract carriers absorb freight from spot market
For-hire truck tonnage jumped 0.7% in January, on the heels of a 1% gain in December 2022, according to the latest data from the American Trucking Associations (ATA).
“Tonnage has increased nicely in the last couple of months,” ATA chief economist Bob Costello said in a press release. “I suspect that some of the gain is attributable to capacity coming out of the network, especially those carriers that primarily operate in the spot market and/or bought expensive used equipment in the last couple of years.
“This would push more freight to contract carriers, which dominate this index. It could also be that freight bottomed and is coming up a little too. So, the gain is likely a little higher demand and a little less supply. Despite the increases in December and January, tonnage is still off 1.4% from its recent high in September.”
The tonnage index was up 1.5% year over year, marking the 17th consecutive year-over-year gain. Tonnage ended 2022 up 3.5% compared to the previous year.
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