ATA Truck Tonnage Index Decreases 0.7% M/M in May, Still Up 3.7% Y/Y



American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 0.7% in May after falling 0.6% in April. In May, the index equaled 113.7 (2015=100) compared with 114.5 in April.

“Tonnage, despite falling slightly over the last two months, remains well above the lows of last year,” Bob Costello, chief economist at American Trucking Associations, said. “This is no small deal considering that truck tonnage fell significantly less than many other indicators during the depths of the pandemic in the spring of 2020.

“One freight segment that is helping tonnage is gasoline as demand for travel, both commuting and vacation related, picks up. I’m also expecting retail freight to remain robust, as inventories are at historic lows. As retail stocks are rebuilt, it will boost freight. As has been the case for some time, trucking’s biggest challenges are not on the demand side but on the supply side, including difficulty finding qualified drivers.”

Compared with May 2020, the SA index rose 3.7% in May 2021, which was preceded by a 6.7% year-over-year jump in April. Year to date, compared with the same five months in 2020, tonnage is up 0.4%.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 113.8 in May, 0.2% below the April level (114).

In calculating the index, 100 represents 2015. ATA’s For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight. April’s reading was revised down slightly to -0.6% from ATA’s original report.


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