Truck freight volumes fell for a second straight month in May. The American Trucking Associations said on June 23, 2026, that its seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index contracted 2% in May after decreasing 0.9% in April. The index stood at 114.4 (2015 = 100). That was still 0.6% above May 2025, but the year-over-year gain was down from 2.5% in April.
“After a total gain of 4.7% during the first three months of the year, tonnage fell a total of 2.9% during the last two months,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. He added that the index was above its year-earlier level for the sixth straight month, a result he called pretty good given that the main drivers of freight, such as manufacturing and construction, remain lackluster. For the first five months of 2026, tonnage was up 2% from the same period last year. The not seasonally adjusted index, which reflects the tonnage fleets actually hauled, was 114.8 in May, 0.8% below April.
Other data for May point the same way on volume and the opposite way on price. The Cass Freight Index report for May, written by Tim Denoyer of ACT Research, showed shipments 1.2% below a year earlier, while freight expenditures were up 7.5% and the Cass Truckload Linehaul Index, which tracks per-mile truckload rates before fuel, was 6.9% higher than in May 2025. The report attributes the faster rate increases mainly to tighter supply of trucks rather than to stronger demand. It also notes the Supreme Court’s May 14 ruling on freight broker liability as a further factor tightening capacity.
Fuel moved in shippers’ favor during the same weeks. The Energy Information Administration’s weekly U.S. diesel average was $4.832 a gallon on June 22, down from $5.640 on May 4.
What it means for shippers
- Softer volume has not meant cheaper trucks. Rate measures are rising while tonnage falls. Do not plan on a discount just because freight is slow.
- Capacity is the number to watch. When rates are driven by the supply of trucks, short-notice loads are the first to get expensive. Give your carrier as much lead time as you can, especially for full truckloads and month-end shipping.
- Check that fuel relief reaches your invoice. An 81-cent drop in the diesel average since early May should show up in fuel surcharges. Confirm that yours follow the current weekly index.
- Review shipment sizes. Several partial loads on one lane can sometimes move for less as a single truckload, and a small truckload can sometimes move for less as LTL. Ask for both prices.
- Talk about regular lanes now. If you ship the same lanes every week, ask your carrier about pricing them for a set period instead of load by load.
Go Trucking Services moves LTL and FTL freight locally in Greater Los Angeles and nationwide. See land transport or request a quote on the home page.
Sources:
- American Trucking Associations: ATA Truck Tonnage Index Fell 2% in May (June 23, 2026)
- Cass Information Systems: Cass Transportation Index Report, May 2026
- EIA, weekly U.S. No. 2 diesel retail prices
Image: Ildar Sagdejev (Specious), via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
