Tennessee’s September Iron Index is 66 (Active). The latest completed letting, August 14, recorded $129.3 million in awards, with 80.6% in earthwork-intensive work. September regional diesel adds cost pressure. August activity is carried forward; it is not new September awards.
One score summarizing project activity, demand, capacity, operating pressure, and near-term opportunity.
Latest completed letting: $129.3M awarded August 14, carried forward into September.
80.6% of awarded value is in earthwork-intensive work.
Midwest diesel was $6.526/gal for the week of September 28.
For readers who want the detail behind the score, signals, regional outlook, and operating recommendations.
Executive read: Tennessee’s September Iron Index is 66 (Active), Iron Sheepdog’s proprietary assessment. The latest completed letting carries a strong grading and new-bridge work mix, while elevated September regional diesel warrants care in pricing. TDOT’s August 14 activity is carried forward because its published schedule lists no September letting; these are not new September awards.
Contract CN262058 carries $69,978,616.17 for grading, drainage, concrete bulb-tee bridges and paving from near Potato Farm Road to near Lowe Road. Charles Blalock & Sons, Inc. is the awarded contractor. Confirm hauling packages and release dates directly.
Contract CN264054 carries $16,843,999.90 for new bridges over Overflow and the Wolf River, including grading, drainage and paving. Dement Construction Group, LLC is the awarded contractor. Confirm approach-work quantities and access before reserving trucks.
Contract CN261061 carries $7,897,169.91 for intersection improvements at Harrell Road/Carpenter Road, including grading, drainage, signals and paving. Coordinate material movements with the prime contractor.
Midwest diesel was $6.526 per gallon for the week of September 28, 20.0% above its recent reference level. This regional benchmark is not a Tennessee pump price. Include fuel adjustments, return mileage and delay terms in quotes.
September construction employment was 167,600, up 0.5% year over year. The employment-based capacity signal is near normal with modest tightening. It does not measure truck supply; verify local equipment availability directly.
This edition assesses completed letting activity, work mix, September regional fuel and September construction employment. Project Pipeline and Broker Opportunity are not scored because comparable forward-project dollar coverage is unavailable. This inaugural edition has no month-over-month Index trend.
The activity assessment uses the approved latest completed August 14 cycle and the preceding twelve-month comparison window, August 2025 through July 2026. It covers the regular and special lettings in the reviewed TDOT archive, not every local, private or separately procured emergency project. Awards do not establish mobilization dates.
Prepared October 23, 2026. Letting activity is carried forward from August 14; fuel and employment observations are anchored to September.
The Iron Index is Iron Sheepdog’s proprietary market assessment, built from public DOT, EIA and BLS data. A score of 60 represents normal conditions for that state. The scoring derivation is proprietary and is not published.
Hauler Capacity is an employment-based proxy, not a measurement of truck supply. Scores describe observed conditions and are not forecasts or guarantees. Award values are not hauling revenue or confirmed loads. This report does not measure all municipal, county, private or separately procured emergency construction.
Use the market signals above to grow your network, plan capacity, and find better-fit work in Tennessee.