Texas’s September 2026 Iron Index is 41 (Soft). TxDOT recorded $283,756,044 in low bids across 177 contracts, with 30.9% of classified value in earthwork-intensive work. Gulf Coast diesel reached $5.955/gal in the week of September 28. August construction employment rose 1.9% year over year, an employment-based capacity proxy.
One score summarizing project activity, demand, capacity, operating pressure, and near-term opportunity.
TxDOT recorded $283.8M in low bids across 177 September contracts.
Gulf Coast diesel was $5.955/gal in the week of September 28.
Texas construction employment rose 1.9% YoY in August (capacity proxy).
For readers who want the detail behind the score, signals, regional outlook, and operating recommendations.
Executive read: Texas’s September Iron Index is 41 (Soft), Iron Sheepdog’s proprietary assessment of the month’s operating conditions. The recorded DOT letting volume was below the state’s recent norm, fuel cost pressure was elevated, and the employment-based capacity proxy pointed to tighter availability. New freeway and bridge replacement work remained relevant to material hauling, and statewide contract count alone is not a measurement of material-hauling demand.
TxDOT recorded $51,358,199 in one contract in Starr County. This is the month’s largest single contract in the extracted low-bid results.
Ten contracts account for $28,798,163. These contracts are a material-hauling opportunity to assess at the project level.
Ten contracts account for $70,828,018. The size of this category helps explain why total letting dollars and hauling-intensive work tell different stories.
This category carries $34,845,075 across 52 contracts. A large number of maintenance contracts does not establish equivalent demand for bulk material hauling.
The new-location freeway contract accounts for $51,358,199, or 18.1% of statewide recorded low-bid value. Confirm the contractor’s actual mobilization and hauling scope before committing trucks.
Seven contracts account for $19,895,850. Compare individual job scopes and start dates rather than treating the county total as a truck-demand measurement.
One contract accounts for $17,180,395. A single contract drives the county’s recorded value this month.
Two contracts account for $11,449,931. Contractor-specific scope remains the basis for hauling decisions.
EIA reported Gulf Coast (PADD 3) on-highway diesel at $5.955 per gallon for the week of September 28, 13.4% above its recent reference level. This is a regional diesel figure, not a Texas pump price. Review fuel-adjustment terms and loaded and empty miles when pricing work.
BLS reported 924,900 Texas construction jobs in August 2026, up 1.9% from August 2025. August is the latest employment month available in the captured release. Hauler Capacity is an employment-based proxy, not a measurement of truck supply; the proxy suggests tighter availability than normal.
This edition assesses transportation activity, heavy civil work, fuel costs and hauling capacity. Together, these indicators inform Iron Sheepdog’s proprietary view of market conditions.
Project Pipeline and Broker Opportunity are not rated in this edition. Historical forward-looking contract values are unavailable for this reporting period.
Verified October 14, 2026. This edition describes September letting and fuel data and the latest available August employment release. Source bytes are retained for audit.
The Iron Index is Iron Sheepdog’s proprietary market assessment, built from public DOT, EIA and BLS data. It considers DOT activity, work mix, forward pipeline, fuel pressure and hauling capacity. 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. This edition includes four verified inputs and omits Pipeline and Broker Opportunity. Scores describe observed conditions and are not forecasts or guarantees. Low-bid results can change before final award. DOT lettings do not measure all private, county or municipal construction.
Use the market signals above to grow your network, plan capacity, and find better-fit work in Texas.