Trucking activity in the United States decreased 0.5% in August after falling 1.2% in July, according to the American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.

“The truck market has certainly flipped this year, but recent tonnage levels confirm this is due to reduced capacity, not robust demand,” Bob Costello, ATA’s chief economist, said in a news release. “Truck tonnage was down in four of the last five months. It is down 4.3% from the recent peak in March, and it has fallen from year-earlier levels in three of the last four months. Because of all the supply constraints, however, the market is generally better.”

In August, the ATA advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 112.7, down from 113.3 in July, the association reported. The index, which is based on 2015 as 100, decreased 1.6% from the same month in 2025, which was worse than July’s 0.7% decline. Year-to-date, compared with the same period in 2025, tonnage is up 1% due to robust year-over-year increases from February through April.

The not seasonally adjusted index, which calculates raw changes in tonnage hauled, equaled 116.1 in August, 0.6% below July’s reading of 116.7.

Trucking serves as a barometer of the U.S. economy, representing 72.7% of tonnage carried by all modes of domestic freight transportation, including manufactured and retail goods. Trucks hauled 11.27 billion tons of freight in 2024.  Motor carriers collected $906 billion, or 76.9% of total revenue earned by all transport modes.

Both indices are dominated by contract freight, as opposed to traditional spot market freight. The tonnage index is calculated on surveys from its membership and has been doing so since the 1970s.