IRU member the American Trucking Associations (ATA) has been calculating the tonnage index based on surveys from its membership since the 1970s. Here are the results for July 2025.
Trucking activity in the US decreased in September, pushing the level down to the lowest in three months.
Specifically, truck freight tonnage declined 0.9%, after gaining 0.9% in August and 1.1% in July, according to ATA’s advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.
ATA Chief Economist and IRU Goods Transport Council Vice President Bob Costello said, “Tonnage levels remain choppy, but they are up 2.1% since hitting a low in January.
“Compared to the high three years earlier, however, truck tonnage is still off by 3.9%.
“In fact, September’s tonnage level was essentially the same as in September 2023, underscoring the tough freight market over the last few years.”
In September, the ATA advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equalled 114.2, down from 115.3 in August. The index, which is based on 2015 as 100, rose 0.8% from the same month last year after increasing 0.4% in August. Compared with the same period in 2024, tonnage was up 0.2%.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which calculates raw changes in tonnage hauled, equalled 114.7 in September, 2.6% below August’s reading of 117.7.
Both indices are dominated by contract freight, as opposed to traditional spot market freight.
Trucking serves as a barometer of the US economy, representing 72.7% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transport, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 11.27 billion tons of freight in 2024. Motor carriers collected USD 906 billion, or 76.9% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.
This story was originally published by ATA.