American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 1.6% in June after increasing 3% in May. In June, the index equaled 113.5 (2015=100) compared with 115.3 in May. “While giving back some of the gain from May, it appears that truck freight tonnage is slowly going in the right direction since hitting a recent low in January,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Despite June’s decline, the second quarter average was 0.2% above the first quarter and only 0.2% below the second quarter in 2023, which are good signs that truck freight might be finally turning the corner.” May’s increase was revised down from our June 18 press release. Compared with June 2023, the index decreased 0.4%. In May, the index was up 1% from a year earlier, which was the first year-over-year gain since February 2023.

American Trucking Associations joined an event at the White House highlighting new public-private initiatives designed to grow the trucking industry’s workforce and bolster the U.S. supply chain. Nine professional truck drivers and nearly two dozen CEOs from ATA-member companies were in attendance. ATA President and CEO Chris Spear issued the following statement prior to the event: “Investing in our workforce never stops. It’s a constant. Our industry needs an additional 80,000 commercial truck drivers if we’re to meet consumer demand. We welcome the support of all elected officials as we recruit and train more talent into this critical industry. Recognizing our dedication to training and safety, the Departments of Labor and Transportation have worked quickly and efficiently in approving ATA as a registered apprenticeship sponsor. This long-sought designation provides our member companies valuable new tools and resources to help recruit and train the next generation of trucking talent."