Report: Tonnage Up 3.4% in 2022

Truck tonnage rose 3.4 percent year-over-year in 2022, the biggest improvement since 2018, according to one report. 

The American Trucking Association released its monthly tonnage findings Jan. 24, showing a 0.4 percent increase in December after a 2.5 percent decrease in November. 

“Despite the small gain in December, for-hire truck tonnage clearly decelerated during the final quarter in 2022,” stated Bob Costello, ATA chief economist. “In fact, tonnage outperformed some other key metrics that drive truck freight, like housing starts and factory output during the final month of the year. This is probably because contract truckload freight is still outperforming the spot market and less-than-truckload freight after underperforming both of those sectors in 2021.” 

The December number was a 0.3 percent increase from December 2021, making it the 16th straight year-over-year gain. However, that increase was the smallest of those 16 years. 

Overall, Costello said 2022 was a “solid year for truck freight tonnage.”