U.S. for-hire truck tonnage rose 0.4% in October, according to the latest data from the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

“October’s gain was the third straight totaling 2.9%,” said ATA chief economist Bob Costello. “The combination of solid retail sales, inventory rebuilding, and generally higher factory output offset some areas of softer freight growth, like home construction, in October.

Tonnage was up 1.8% compared to October 2020, marking the largest year-over-year gain since May.

“Economic growth remains on solid footing, which is good for truck freight volumes going forward,” Costello added. “The largest problem for the industry isn’t the amount of demand, but making sure we have adequate supply. It is good to see that fleets were able to haul more tonnage in recent months in the face of constrained supply.”