Five Facts About The Trucking Industry That May Surprise You
By Seth Newman
The American trucking industry is a booming business that has grown every year. Today it is the number one choice for manufacturers, farms, factories, and stores to move their freight from point A to point B. Here are some surprising facts about the trucking industry that you may not know about the $700 billion industry.
Trucks moved 30 lbs of freight per person in the United States in 2017.
Each person in the U.S. accounted for 30 lbs of freight.
According to the American Trucking Association, in 2017, trucks in the U.S. moved 10.8 billion tons of freight. With the U.S. population at over 325,000,000, that equates to nearly 30 lbs of freight for every person living in the United States. That’s a ton of freight!
Minorities make up nearly half the workforce of truck drivers in the United States.
Minority truck drivers make up almost half of the work force.
40.6% of all trucking jobs in the U.S. are held by minorities, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The trucking industry is certainly diverse, and we can see this diversity growing in other areas as well. Minorities hold just 22% of all jobs in the U.S. but have a strong presence in trucking. Women compromise 6.2 % of all truck drivers.
The U.S. Trucking Industry Could Finance Its Own Country.
A steady flow of semis lead the way down a busy interstate highway in Tennessee.
The U.S. Trucking Industry has a Gross Domestic Product of over $700 billion in the year 2017. If the trucking industry were a country, it would rank 33rd overall ahead of countries like Bangladesh, Iraq, Vietnam, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Ireland and 190 other countries. Wow!
Professional Long Haul Truckers Go The Distance.
A long haul trucker goes the distance.
The shortest drivable distance between the East Coast of the U.S. and the West Coast of the U.S. is 2,092 miles which would take you about a week if you drove 60 mph the whole way. Professional truck drivers can log up 2,000 to 3,000 miles a week hauling freight all over the country. That equates to nearly 50 trips from coast-to-coast a year! According to Business Insider, the average U.S. motorist logs about 13,500 miles in their vehicle per year.
There’s a Growing Need For Truck Drivers.
Truck Drivers Wanted!
With over $700 billion of freight that needs transportation, America needs more truck drivers. The American Trucking Association estimated that 900,000 more professional truck drivers are required to meet the demand of the growing logistics industry. The average age of the American truck driver is 55 years old and continues to rise. With that in mind, the need for more drivers will probably increase in the following years.