Trucking volume projections from ATA forecast 28% growth over eleven years

A month is a long time in the trucking industry but for those who are in the sector for the long haul (pun intended) the latest report from the American Trucking Association projects that ground freight volumes will increase by more than 28 percent over the next eleven years. While there will always be hills and valleys in terms of the economy that projection equates to more a decade of very steady growth nationwide within our industry.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello expanded;

“The outlook for all modes of freight transportation remains bright. Continued population growth, expansion of the energy sector and foreign trade will boost trucking, intermodal rail and pipeline shipments in particular.”

The study, 'Forecast', is a joint effort between ATA and IHS Global and the findings articulated growth of 28.6% in freight tonnage in addition to revenues climbing over 74% to just over $1.5 trillion by 2026.

The analysis also concluded that there is no likelihood of trucking losing top billing as the primary method of freight transportation over the period assessed with total freight via truck forecast to fall slightly to 64.6% of all freight versus the current 68.8%. The slight reduction of the overall share of freight transported by road will see benefits to the rail and pipeline sectors respectively.

Finally, today's total of 3.56 million class 8 trucks is projected to expand to 3.98 million vehicles by 2026. No matter how you approach the data it delivers very encouraging results to the nationwide trucking industry.