[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
July tonnage dips as choppy conditions continue
ATA For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index declines 1% sequentially to 113.5
The results also marked a 0.5% decline from the prior year. (grandriver/Getty Images)
Key Takeaways:
- ATA said Aug. 18 its For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index fell 1% in July to 113.5 from 114.7 in June.
- The index declined 0.5% year over year, though tonnage remained up 1.4% through July compared with 2025.
- ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello attributed the uneven recovery largely to excess capacity leaving the market, with data center construction a bright spot.
Freight tonnage slipped in July, the latest sign of an uneven year for trucking, American Trucking Associations reported Aug. 18.
The ATA For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index decreased 1% sequentially to 113.5 from 114.7 in June. The report said the results reflected an ongoing trend of choppy tonnage levels. The results also marked a 0.5% decline from the prior year.
“Aside from a couple pockets of strength, including the boom in data center construction for AI, freight has been lackluster,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “It is also true that the industry is seeing a recovery, but that is nearly all due to excess capacity leaving the market.”
ATA data also showed that freight tonnage was up 1.4% during the first seven months of the year compared with 2025. The report credited this to robust year-over-year increases from February through April. ATA calculates its monthly tonnage index based on feedback from carriers hauling contract freight. The index uses 2015 as a base year of 100.
