Basis of Presentation	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2026
Basis of Presentation and Accounting Pronouncements [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]	Basis of Presentation and New Accounting Pronouncements Heartland Express, Inc. is a holding company incorporated in Nevada, which directly or indirectly owns all of the stock of the following legal entities: Heartland Express, Inc. of Iowa, Heartland Express Services, Inc., Heartland Express Maintenance Services, Inc. (collectively, "Heartland Express"), and Midwest Holding Group, LLC and Millis Transfer, LLC (together, "Millis Transfer"), and Smith Transport, LLC ("Smith Transport"), and certain Mexican entities. Effective December 31, 2025, we integrated and rebranded U.S. operations of Contract Freighters, Inc. ("CFI") into Heartland Express. We, together with our subsidiaries, are a short, medium, and long-haul truckload carrier and transportation services provider. The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the parent company, Heartland Express, Inc., and its subsidiaries, all of which are wholly owned. All material intercompany items and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes to the financial statements required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all normal, recurring adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. The consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes for the year ended December 31, 2025 included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K the Company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 3, 2026. Interim results of operations are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year or any other interim periods. There were no changes to the Company's significant accounting policies during the three months ended March 31, 2026.

Heartland Express, Inc. is a holding company incorporated in Nevada, which directly or indirectly owns all of the stock of the following legal entities: Heartland Express, Inc. of Iowa, Heartland Express Services, Inc., Heartland Express Maintenance Services, Inc. (collectively, "Heartland Express"), and Midwest Holding Group, LLC and Millis Transfer, LLC (together, "Millis Transfer"), and Smith Transport, LLC ("Smith Transport"), and certain Mexican entities. Effective December 31, 2025, we integrated and rebranded U.S. operations of Contract Freighters, Inc. ("CFI") into Heartland Express. We, together with our subsidiaries, are a short, medium, and long-haul truckload carrier and transportation services provider.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the parent company, Heartland Express, Inc., and its subsidiaries, all of which are wholly owned. All material intercompany items and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes to the financial statements required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all normal, recurring adjustments considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. The consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes for the year ended December 31, 2025 included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K the Company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 3, 2026. Interim results of operations are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year or any other interim periods. There were no changes to the Company's significant accounting policies during the three months ended March 31, 2026.