Trucking activity in the United States fell 1 percent in July after rising 1.5 percent in June, according to the American Trucking Associations' advanced seasonally adjusted For Hire Truck Tonnage Index. The index equaled 113.5 in July, down from 114.7 in June, and was 0.5 percent below the same month last year.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said, "Tonnage levels have been choppy recently, and this trend was reflected in July's decline. Aside from a couple pockets of strength, including the boom in data center construction for AI, freight has been lackluster. It is also true that the industry is seeing a recovery, but that is nearly all due to excess capacity leaving the market."

Year to date, tonnage is up 1.4 percent compared with the same period in 2025, largely on the strength of gains from February through April. The not seasonally adjusted index, which tracks raw changes in tonnage hauled, came in at 117 for July, down 0.9 percent from June's reading of 118.

Trucking remains the dominant mode for domestic freight, carrying 72.7 percent of tonnage moved by all transportation modes and generating $906 billion, or 76.9 percent of total revenue earned across all modes, based on 2024 figures. Motor carriers hauled 11.27 billion tons of freight that year.

The tonnage index has tracked industry activity since the 1970s and is based on carrier surveys, with results weighted heavily toward contract freight rather than spot market loads. ATA issues a preliminary reading each month, followed by a final report around the fifth business day of the following month.

Source: American Trucking Associations - https://www.trucking.org/news-insights/ata-truck-tonnage-index-fell-1-july