The ATA advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 117.8 in April 2026, unchanged from March but representing a 3.5% increase over the same month in 2025. The index now stands at levels not seen since the fall of 2022.

Through the first four months of 2026, the tonnage index rose 2.6% compared with the same period in 2025, marking the best four-month start since the third quarter of 2017. The index increased a total of 4.7% between the end of 2025 and April 2026, with no monthly decreases recorded so far this year.

Trucks move 72.7% of all domestic freight tonnage in the United States, covering manufactured and retail goods. In 2024, motor carriers hauled an estimated 11.27 billion tons of freight and collected $906 billion, representing 76.9% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which measures raw tonnage changes, came in at 116.8 in April, 3.4% below March's reading of 120.9. The index is based on 2015 as a baseline of 100 and is calculated monthly from carrier surveys.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello noted that holding steady at these tonnage levels is notable in the context of a 4.7% cumulative gain since year-end 2025.

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