Trucking activity ticked up in September 0.8% after falling 0.2% in August, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) says.
"Truck tonnage ended the quarter on a better note, but weakness in July and August pushed the third quarter reading into negative territory both sequentially and from a year earlier," says Bob Costello, ATA's chief economist. "We are seeing soft tonnage levels but capacity is still contracting, which is leading to a better market for motor carriers."
[RELATED: Trailer orders up more than 300% year over year in September]
September's For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index came in at 114, up from August's 113.1. Year over year, the index was unchanged, improving from August's 1.3% decline. Year-to-date compared to 2025, tonnage is up 0.9%, which is likely among the reasons the U.S. truck fleet added more than 229,000 pieces of verified equipment in Q3, per data from from RigDig (owned by Fusable, parent company of TPS).
The index is based on 2015 as 100.
The not seasonally adjusted index calculates raw changes in tonnage hauled. It was 114.8 in September, down 1.4% from August's 116.4.
