Truck tonnage in the United States fell in October to its lowest level since January, the American Trucking Associations reported on Nov. 18.
ATA said its advanced seasonally adjusted truck tonnage index decreased 2.1% last month to 111.9, down from 114.3 in September. The index contracted 1.8% from the same month last year after increasing 0.9% in September.
“October’s weakness shows the freight market remains very difficult, dropping the most of any single month since January 2024,” said Bob Costello, ATA’s chief economist. “Compared with a year earlier, tonnage experienced its largest decline in 2025.”
Through the first 10 months of 2025, tonnage levels were unchanged from the same period in 2024. The index is based on 2015 freight levels as 100.
Costello noted September’s seasonally adjusted decrease was revised slightly higher from its initial reading. The not seasonally adjusted index, which calculates raw changes in tonnage hauled, equaled 119.2 in October, 3.8% above September’s reading of 114.8.
The latest tonnage report comes as many publicly traded trucking fleets expressed continued concern about the extended freight recession in recent third-quarter earnings reports.
It also aligns with Costello’s prediction last month at ATA’s annual conference that there would likely be “an acceleration of failures” if freight levels remain subdued.
ATA’s tonnage reports are based more heavily on contract freight from its members than the spot market. These preliminary numbers are subject to revisions, with the final report on October tonnage to be issued in early December.
