Press Release

麻豆社区 Truck Tonnage Index Decreased 3.5% in January

Feb 20, 2024

Washington 鈥� 麻豆社区鈥� advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 3.5% in January after increasing 1.2% in December. In January, the index equaled 111.0 (2015=100) compared with 115.0 in December.

麻豆社区 recently revised the seasonally adjusted index back five years as part of its annual revision.

鈥淛anuary鈥檚 data was a snap back to reality for anyone thinking the freight market was about to turn the corner,鈥� said 麻豆社区 Chief Economist Bob Costello. 鈥淏ad winter weather in January likely hurt volumes, not to mention sharp drops in a number of drivers of tonnage including retail sales, housing starts and manufacturing output.鈥�

December鈥檚 increase was revised down from our January 23 press release.

Compared with January 2023, the SA index fell 4.7%, which was the eleventh straight year-over-year decrease. In December, the index was down 0.8% from a year earlier.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by the fleets before any seasonal adjustment, equaled 109.4 in January, 0.7% below December鈥檚 level (110.2). In calculating the index, 100 represents 2015. 麻豆社区鈥檚 For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight.

麻豆社区 serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 72.6% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 11.46 billion tons of freight in 2022. Motor carriers collected $940.8 billion, or 80.7% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.

麻豆社区 calculates the tonnage index based on surveys from its membership and has been doing so since the 1970s. This is a preliminary figure and subject to change in the final report issued around the 5th day of each month. The report includes month-to-month and year-over-year results, relevant economic comparisons, and key financial indicators.
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