American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index increased 4.3 percent in February after decreasing 3.2 percent in January. In February, the index equaled 116.0 (2015=100) compared with 111.3 in January.

“After a very soft January, due in part to winter storms, truck tonnage snapped back in February,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “February’s level was the highest in a year, yet the index still contracted from a year earlier, suggesting truck freight remains in a recession.”

January’s decrease was revised up from the Feb. 20 press release.

Compared with February 2023, the index fell 1.4 percent, which was the 12th straight year-over-year decline. In January, the index was down 4.5 percent 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 109.7 in February, the same as in January. ATA’s For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index is dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot market freight.

In calculating the index, 100 represents 2015.

Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 72.6 percent 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 percent of total revenue earned by all transport modes.