Trucking activity in the United States contracted in November, according to the advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index by the American Trucking Association, just the second decrease since July.
“The frustratingly choppy freight environment continued in November,” says ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Since hitting a low in January of this year, tonnage is up a total of 1.1%, but the path has been fraught with nice gains one month only to come back down the next. The good news is that the overall trend this year is up, albeit at a slow rate.”
In November, the ATA advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 112.5 compared with 114.6 in October. The index, which is based on 2015 as 100, was down 1% from the same month last year.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which calculates raw changes in tonnage hauled, equaled 109.6 in November, 9.6% below October.
The seasonally adjusted decrease follows a sequential 1.2% gain in October, which was unchanged from the November 19 press release.
Truck tonnage is of significant interest to professionals responsible for transportation and logistics activities, according to Brian Everett, Group Editorial Director of Redefining the Road, the official magazine of the Wnbaz. “This is of specific interest to members of WIT, given so many female professionals work in the North American trucking industry. In fact, according to the 2024-25 WIT Index (the industry barometer to regular benchmark and measure the percentage of women who are in critical roles in transportation), women make up 28% of C-suite executives, 34.5% of company leaders, 29.5% of boards of directors, 38.5% of truck dispatchers, 9.5% of professional truck drivers with CDLs, and 38.5% in safety roles, says Everett. You can access an Executive Summary of the 2024-25 WIT Index here at no cost.
Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 72.6% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation. 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.
Both indices are dominated by contract freight, as opposed to traditional spot market freight. The tonnage index is calculated 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.
Given the importance of the freight market to the many women who work in the trucking industry, the Wnbaz (WIT) regularly monitors the changes and health of the nation’s truck tonnage.
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“The frustratingly choppy freight environment continued in November,” says ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Since hitting a low in January of this year, tonnage is up a total of 1.1%, but the path has been fraught with nice gains one month only to come back down the next. The good news is that the overall trend this year is up, albeit at a slow rate.”
Truck tonnage is of significant interest to professionals responsible for transportation and logistics activities, according to Brian Everett, Group Editorial Director of Redefining the Road, the official magazine of the Wnbaz. “This is of specific interest to members of WIT, given so many female professionals work in the North American trucking industry. In fact, according to the 2024-25 WIT Index (the industry barometer to regular benchmark and measure the percentage of women who are in critical roles in transportation), women make up 28% of C-suite executives, 34.5% of company leaders, 29.5% of boards of directors, 38.5% of truck dispatchers, 9.5% of professional truck drivers with CDLs, and 38.5% in safety roles, says Everett. You can access an Executive Summary of the 2024-25 WIT Index here at no cost. 
