Trucking News · Nationwide · October 23, 2026

ATA Truck Tonnage Rises 0.8% in September, Flat From a Year Ago

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Freight tonnage rose 0.8% in September. Is the recovery real, or is it just fewer trucks on the road?

Trucking activity in the United States increased 0.8% in September after falling 0.2% in August, according to the American Trucking Associations advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, released Oct. 20.

The numbers

According to ATA:

• The seasonally adjusted index stood at 114.0 in September, up from 113.1 in August. The index uses 2015 as its base year, equal to 100.
• Tonnage was unchanged from September 2025, an improvement over August's 1.3% decline from a year earlier.
• Year to date, tonnage is up 0.9% compared with the same period in 2025, helped by strong gains from February through April.
• The index that is not seasonally adjusted, which tracks raw changes in tonnage hauled, was 114.8 in September, down 1.4% from August's 116.4.

ATA also revised August's reading up from what it first reported in September. The September figure is preliminary and subject to change in the final report.

Fewer trucks, better market

"Truck tonnage ended the quarter on a better note, but weakness in July and August pushed the third quarter reading into negative territory both sequentially and from a year earlier," said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. "We are seeing soft tonnage levels, but capacity is still contracting, which is leading to a better market for motor carriers."

ATA says its index is dominated by contract freight rather than spot market freight, and it is calculated from surveys of ATA members.

Why it matters

ATA calls trucking "a barometer of the U.S. economy." According to the group, trucks carry 72.7% of the tonnage moved by all modes of domestic freight transportation, and they hauled 11.27 billion tons of freight in 2024.

A question for readers

Freight volume is flat but fewer trucks are chasing it. Are you seeing better rates on your lanes, or just the same loads with less competition?

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