Truck tonnage posts strong seasonally-adjusted February gains, reports ATA

Following a flat January to kick off 2025, February truck tonnage levels posted a strong sequential gain, according to data issued earlier today by the American Trucking Associations (ATA).

The February reading of the ATA’s advanced Seasonally Adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index came in at 115.2 (2015=100), topping January’s 111.9 reading. ATA said that this 3% sequential increase represents “the largest sequential increase seen in several years.”

From December to January, the SA reading inched up 0.1%, with the January to February increase representing the second monthly annual increase, for the first time since early 2023, said ATA.

The ATA’s not seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by fleets before any seasonal adjustment and the metric ATA says fleets should benchmark their levels with, came in at 104.8 in February, below January’s 110.0 reading.

ATA said both of these indices are “dominated by contract freight, as opposed to traditional spot market freight,” with the tonnage index data calculated on surveys from ATA members.

After a scant 0.1% decline in January, which wasn’t bad considering the harsh winter weather and California wildfires, truck tonnage had a robust gain in February” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “This outcome fits well with our growing optimism for the truck freight market after a two-year recession. Some of the gain in February was due to accelerated imports early in the year as shippers rushed to bring products into the U.S. before tariffs hit. Even accounting for this, the first two months of the year were positive, all things considered, indicating that the freight recovery has indeed begun.”