The American Trucking Associations For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index held steady at 117.8 in April 2026, matching March's revised reading and posting a 3.5% year-over-year increase, according to ATA data. The index has not recorded a single month-over-month decline in 2026, rising a cumulative 4.7% since the end of 2025.

Through the first four months of 2026, the ATA index averaged a 2.6% gain compared to the same period in 2025. The April reading marks the highest sustained level for the index since late 2022, when the trucking industry entered a multi-year freight recession that pressured rates and drove capacity out of the market. First-quarter 2026 truck tonnage was up 2.1% versus Q1 2025, the best first-quarter performance on a combined sequential and year-over-year basis since Q3 2017.

The ATA For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index measures the amount of freight hauled by the US for-hire trucking industry and serves as a leading indicator of domestic industrial and retail activity. A reading of 117.8 indicates carriers moved 17.8% more tonnage than during the 2015 base year. ATA chief economist Bob Costello has noted that improving tonnage, combined with reduced truck supply from the prior market downturn, is creating a more balanced operating environment heading into the second half of 2026.

Source: American Trucking Associations -- https://www.trucking.org/news-insights/ata-truck-tonnage-index-unchanged-in-april