supply-chain

Truck Tonnage Fell Again in August, and Capacity Is Doing the Rest

Published September 23, 20264 min read

Dusk photo of a truck stop diesel island with idle semi-trucks parked in rows under warm lights. — As enforcement pulls drivers and trucks off the road, a shrinking truck stop scene captures how tightening capacity — not demand — is keeping freight rates high. Illustration: MarketIntelLabs

Truck freight volumes shrank again in August. The American Trucking Associations' advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index fell 0.5% in August, ATA reported on September 22, after a 1.0% decline in July that was revised from 1.2%. The index sat at 112.7 on a 2015=100 base, below July's revised 113.3 and down 1.6% from August 2025. Tonnage has now fallen in four of the last five months and stands 4.3% below the March peak of 117.6.

Key takeaways ATA's seasonally adjusted truck tonnage index fell 0.5% in August to 112.7, the fourth decline in five months, and is down 1.6% from a year earlier. ATA chief economist Bob Costello attributes the better freight market to reduced capac…

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