The American Trucking Associations advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index registered 113.5 in July 2026, a decline of 1 percent from the 114.7 recorded in June. The index uses 2015 as its base year of 100.

July tonnage came in 0.5 percent below the same month in 2025, a reversal from June, which had posted a 1.2 percent year over year gain. Measured year to date against the same period in 2025, tonnage remains up 1.4 percent, a result driven mainly by strong year over year increases recorded from February through April. The June reading was revised upward from the figure ATA first published on July 21.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which tracks raw changes in tonnage hauled, came in at 117 for July, 0.9 percent below the June reading of 118.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello described tonnage levels as choppy and said the July decline reflected that pattern. He pointed to data center construction tied to artificial intelligence as one of the few pockets of strength in an otherwise lackluster freight environment, and attributed the broader recovery largely to excess capacity leaving the market.

Trucking accounts for 72.7 percent of tonnage moved by all domestic freight transportation modes. Trucks hauled 11.27 billion tons of freight in 2024 and motor carriers collected $906 billion, or 76.9 percent of total revenue earned across all transport modes. Both ATA indices are weighted toward contract freight rather than spot market activity.

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