There was a 1.4% year-over-year increase in truck tonnage in December last year. The same is a four-year continuation of constant growth. It is also the highest figure since March. The figures for December were also higher than those from November. Despite the challenges that faced the industry, there have been positives in the recent past. This shows how the nation is slowly but steadily healing from the havoc caused by the pandemic.

Bob Costello stated that the gain in December was the highest since March. However, the numbers are not yet where they were before the pandemic hit. Transport Topics reported that contract freight's dominance played a big role in the performance. The number of trucks available was way less to cover needed ground. He, however, stated that the trend is positive, proof of economic growth.

The main reason for the high tonnage in December was the strong holiday shopping. The sales stood at $886.7 billion, more than what people expected. The figure was that high despite the challenges. Some of the challenges include inflated prices of products. However, the main issues were the supply chain and the pandemic.

NRF President Matthew Shay said consumers had good wages and savings to spend. The holiday shopping began quite earlier than usual. NRF expects even more growth as the year goes by. The industry must now focus on dealing with the pandemic challenges. They will also work on supply chain issues and labor and inflation. The number of retail sales shows that 2021 was a good year.

DAT Truckload also experienced a growth of 18% in December. The truckload freight volumes closed the year on a high. Both spot and contract rates did quite well in December. The spot rate for van freight and refrigerated rates increased. Flatbed load rates were also positive. The amount of demand during the holiday season was one never seen before.

Trucking is the backbone of the U.S. economy. It represents 72.5% of tonnage transported by all modes of transport. The figures reported from 2021 show that there is hope for the future. There are several challenges that the industry must get past to grow. How well the industry deals with the pandemic, labor issues, and the supply chain will determine how fast there would be a turnaround.