Truck tonnage data was revised upward for April but down slightly in preliminary data for May, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) reported Tuesday.
According to ATA’s advanced seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, freight was down 0.1% in May compared to April, which also initially appeared negative but has been amended to a positive, up 0.5% from March.
“The seesaw freight demand pattern continued in April, making it difficult to discern any clear pattern in the market,” says ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Excluding the services economy — the largest part of economic activity — the goods market is all over the map, thus impacting freight levels. Construction is soft, manufacturing is up and down, and consumers are cautious.”
[RELATED: ACT sees extension of for-hire freight recession]
In May, the ATA index equaled 113.8, down from 113.9 in April. The index, which is based on 2015 as 100, was down 1.3% from the same month last year, the first year-over-year decrease in 2025, ATA reports. Year-to-date, compared with the same period in 2024, tonnage is up 0.1%.
ATA adds the not seasonally adjusted index, which calculates raw changes in tonnage hauled, equaled 116.2 in May, 2.9% above April’s reading of 112.9.
