Trucking's closely watched activity gauge showed its strongest performance in nearly a decade during the first quarter of 2026, with the American Trucking Associations' For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index climbing 3% year over year in March, the largest annual gain since October 2022.

The Q1 2026 average represented the best three-month stretch since Q3 2017 when measured across both sequential and year-over-year dimensions simultaneously. February was the standout month, with tonnage surging 2.6%, pushing index levels to the highest reading in three years.

The rebound has broad context. The ATA reports that trucking employs 8.4 million people in industry-related jobs, including 3.58 million professional drivers. The industry remains dominated by small carriers, with 91.5% of operators running 10 or fewer trucks and 99.3% operating fewer than 100 power units.

January's 0.4% gain, while modest, confirmed that the Q4 2025 dip was not the start of a new downcycle. The cumulative Q1 2026 gain of 2.1% over Q1 2025 reinforces the view that freight demand is returning on a sustainable basis rather than driven by tariff front-loading alone. For fleet operators and logistics providers seeking to communicate their operational performance to customers, fleet management video training resources are available at relyoncontent.com.

Source: American Trucking Associations -- https://www.trucking.org/news-insights/ata-truck-tonnage-index-edged-03-higher-march