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

The index, based on 2015 as 100, reached 114 in September, up from 113.1 in August. September matched its level from the same month in 2025, an improvement over August's 1.3% year-over-year decline. Year to date, tonnage is up 0.9% compared with the same period in 2025, supported by sizable year-over-year gains from February through April.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which measures raw changes in tonnage hauled, equaled 114.8 in September. That figure sits 1.4% below August's 116.4.

The chart tracks the monthly seasonally adjusted index from January 2022 through September 2026. Readings reached a high near 119 in 2022, settled mostly between 112 and 115 from 2023 through 2025, and spiked to roughly 117.8 in early 2026 before returning to the 113 to 114 range over the summer. The September point of 114 is the latest reading on the line.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said tonnage ended the quarter on a better note, though weakness in July and August left the third-quarter reading negative both from the prior quarter and from a year earlier. He said tonnage levels remain soft while capacity continues to contract, which is producing a better market for motor carriers.

ATA reports that trucking carries 72.7% of tonnage moved by all domestic freight modes. Trucks hauled 11.27 billion tons of freight in 2024, and motor carriers collected $906 billion, or 76.9% of revenue earned by all transport modes.

Source: American Trucking Associations - https://www.trucking.org/news-insights/ata-truck-tonnage-index-rose-08-september