Document And Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016	Oct. 26, 2016
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	MARTEN TRANSPORT LTD
Entity Central Index Key	0000799167
Trading Symbol	mrtn
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		32,571,400
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Amendment Flag	false