From coast to corridor: What data from millions of commercial vehicles reveals about the health of the U.S. supply chain
Geotab's new analysis uncovers the hidden shift in freight movement and regional logistics resilience
ATLANTA, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Geotab Inc. ("Geotab"), a global leader in connected operations, video telematics and AI-powered insights, today published a new Health of U.S. Supply Chain report that points to an American supply chain showing resilience. Over the last three quarters* Long-haul trucking remained steady while Regional truck trips increased by 3.8% and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) rose 5.4%, pointing to an American supply chain adapting and shifting to meet end consumer demands.
Trucks move 72% of the nation's total freight value and 65% of its tonnage, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.Truck activity can offer useful insights into broader economic trends. Geotab together with Altitude by Geotab, Geotab's research and insights division, analyzed data insights from over six million commercial vehicles to offer an earlier view of the supply chain while traditional financial data catches up.
Trucks Tell the Story
This report covers commercial vehicle activity across key U.S. interstate corridors (I-10, I-35, I-80/90, I-95), cities (Los Angeles, Denver, New York and Atlanta), and ports (Los Angeles/Long Beach and New York/New Jersey) looking at behavior across five vocations (Long-Haul, Regional, Hub-and-Spoke, Last Mile, Drayage), to surface early signals of change before they show up in traditional economic data.
Key Report Signals
- Long-Haul held steady with VMT up modestly each quarter. The freight backbone is steady and there's no upstream contraction.
- Regional was the fastest-growing class with trips +3.8% and VMT +5.4% over the past three quarters, signaling more demand and inventory activity closer to end markets.
- Hub-and-Spoke capacity shrank following a normal post-holiday dip and recovery, with in-service utilization rising to a three-quarter high of 84.3%, suggesting high efficiencies.
- Last-mile optimized: Door-to-Door trip volume rose continually from Q4 2025 in all four cities studied while at the same time miles per trip fell indicating more deliveries and shorter routes.
- Drayage activity shifted away from trucks. Los Angeles/Long Beach reported their strongest month of 2026 (up ~12% from a year earlier) but our analysis showed flat truck activity which points to rail absorbing the growth.
"By analyzing approximately 12% of all U.S. commercial traffic, our report offers a unique view of freight movement across key U.S. cities and corridors," said Mike Branch, VP, Data & Analytics, Geotab. "At a time of significant change and economic pressures, having real-world supply chain data helps organizations better understand the challenges facing their operations."
By the Numbers
Across the study period, Geotab analyzed:
- More than 1.2 million long-haul journeys per quarter
- Approximately 1 million regional trips per quarter
- About 230,000 hub-and-spoke trips per quarter
- More than 50 million door-to-door delivery trips per quarter across four cities
- Approximately 254,000 port entries per quarter for the country's two busiest ports
"Altitude by Geotab was built to turn aggregate fleet insights into decisions," said Nate Veeh, AVP, Altitude by Geotab. "We're applying that capability to the supply chain at scale, giving logistics leaders, policymakers and planners the kind of real-world, ground-level insight that simply hasn't existed before. The intelligence was always there in the movement of trucks across America. Now it's working for the people who need it most."
Cities Show Different Patterns
Although each city has its own uniqueness which cautions us against making comparisons or drawing overall conclusions, our analysis shows growth in the number of trips for all four cities (all but New York in double digits). A corresponding universal drop in miles per trip from Q1 2026 to Q2 2026 suggests a general focus on efficiency by adjusting routes instead of just piling on more deliveries.
Key City insights
Los Angeles | LA recorded the largest increase in delivery trips, jumping nearly 40% above the Q4 baseline by Q2 |
Denver | Denver had the most consistent drop in miles per trip, with routes shrinking 6.7% in Q1 and another 19.7% in Q2 as drivers made more local stops. |
New York | NYC dominates local logistics, with last-mile activity making up nearly 66% of all commercial driving miles and half of all commercial vehicles in the city. |
Atlanta | Atlanta showed the steadiest growth across all metrics, with last-mile trip volume jumping 24.5% in Q2. |
"Whether you are a fleet manager or operate a distribution warehouse, keeping freight moving efficiently means understanding the small and subtle shifts of transporting via busy interstates or into large cities," said Branch. "Connecting real world data insights to what is happening across the economy provides a snapshot of how freight is moving across the country."
Report Availability
The Health of the U.S. Supply Chain Report: Long-Haul to Last-Mile Commercial Transportation Insights is available for download at: https://www.geotab.com/us-supply-chain/. The report will be published on a recurring basis to track supply chain trends across future quarters. Note: *Last three quarters Q4 2025, Q1 2026 and Q2 2026
About the Methodology
The analysis and methodology draw on commercial telematics data from Geotab's global fleet network of over six million connected vehicles. The aggregate data covers three consecutive quarters of U.S. commercial vehicle activity: Q4 2025, Q1 2026 and Q2 2026. Quarter-over-quarter comparisons are sequential (Q4 to Q1 to Q2), with Q4 2025 as the fixed index baseline. The metrics combine three analyses: a corridor view of Heavy-Duty truck activity, a city view of Door-to-Door delivery activity and a seaport view of drayage truck activity. Activity is normalized per vehicle per active day. These insights are based on aggregate historical data and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute, and should not be relied upon as, economic, operational, or business advice. The analysis was conducted by Altitude by Geotab.
About Geotab
Geotab is a global leader in connected operations, video telematics and AI-powered insights. Trusted by more than 100,000 customers — from small and mid-size fleets to Fortune 500 enterprises and public-sector organizations, including the U.S. federal government — Geotab connects approximately 6 million vehicles and assets and processes 100 billion data points daily. With ISO/IEC 27001:2022, SOC2, FIPS 140-3 and FedRAMP authorizations, Geotab's open platform and partner ecosystem unify safety, compliance and operations in a unified system. Our mission: a safer, more efficient and more sustainable world in motion. Learn more at www.geotab.com and follow us on LinkedIn or visit Geotab News and Views.
About Altitude by Geotab
Altitude by GeotabTM, a line of business within Geotab, is a leading provider of advanced mobility insights and solutions for public and commercial sectors across North America. Headquartered in Oakville, Ontario and Atlanta, Georgia, we leverage our expertise in data analytics to help decision-makers gain a comprehensive understanding of road network movements. By delivering reliable and contextualized insights, we enable improved planning capabilities and better financial outcomes, while maintaining data confidentiality and privacy. Our solutions drive safer, more efficient and more sustainable mobility throughout North America. Learn more at altitude.geotab.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
Altitude by Geotab is a trademark or registered trademark of Geotab Inc.
SOURCE Geotab Inc.
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