U.S. for-hire truck tonnage makes November gains

For-hire truck tonnage was on the rise in the U.S. this November, with the American Trucking Associations’ (ATA) seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index up 1.3%. That builds on a 0.4% gain in October.

The November reading reached 114.5, compared to a baseline of 100 established in 2015. It was 2.5% higher than November 2020, marking the largest year-over-year gain since May.

ATA November truck tonnage
(Illustration: ATA)

“November’s gain was the fourth straight, totaling 4.3%, and the tonnage level was the highest since April,” said ATA chief economist Bob Constello, in a press release. “The recent streak is very good, but it should be noted that from April through July the index fell a total of 4.6%, so we are not quite back to where we were last spring.

“With that said, the index saw the largest gain from a year earlier since May. In November, strong factory output and housing starts helped push the index higher,” he said. 

Not accounting for seasonal adjustments, the November reading was 114.7, about 0.9% below the levels seen in October.

The index is dominated by contract freight.


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