February truck tonnage saw solid gains on the way to its highest level over the last three years, according to data issued by the American Trucking Associations (ATA) this week.
ATA reported that its February advanced Seasonally Adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index reading, at 116.2 (2015=100), was up over January’s 113.1 and December’s 112.9 readings, while heading up 2.1% annually, posting its largest annual gain going back to October 2022. What’s more, it added that through the first two months of 2026, tonnage rose 1.4% annually. For calendar year 2025, the SA For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index came in flat when compared to the 2025 average.
The ATA’s not seasonally adjusted (SA) For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index, which represents the change in tonnage actually hauled by fleets before any seasonal adjustment and the metric ATA says fleets should benchmark their levels with, came in at 106.9, trailing January’s 108.5 and December’s 111.9 readings.
ATA officials said that both of these indices are dominated by contract freight, instead of spot market freight.
“February’s robust gain is great to see, but the size of the gain is likely magnified due to lower industry capacity,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “With that said, particularly after a very prolonged freight recession, improving volumes in any manner is welcomed.”
