ATA reports that the trucking industry hauled 69 per cent of the total volume of freight transported in the US in 2006. This equates to an all-time high carrying load of 10.7 billion tons, and $645.6 billion in revenue, representing 83.8 per cent of the nation’s freight bill.
“Americans should understand that their national economy is directly linked to freight transportation,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “Trucking is the driving force behind our great economy. Safe, reliable and efficient motor carriers enable businesses throughout the entire supply chain to keep inventories lean, thereby saving the economy billions of dollars each year”.
ATA reported that more than 26 million trucks of all classes played a part in reaching the tonnage milestone. Of this, 2.9 million were typical Class 8 trucks operated by more than 750,000 inter-State motor carriers.
Class 8 trucks drove 130.5 billion miles of the total 414 billion miles traveled by all weight classes used for business purposes in 2005. The nation’s truck fleet consumed 52.8 billion gallons of fuel, both diesel and gasoline. The trucking industry spent about $111 billion on diesel fuel in 2007, up from $103.3 billion in 2006. Commercial trucks paid $35.2 billion in federal and State highway-user taxes in 2005.
The trucking industry continues as a major employer in the country. Nearly 8.7 million people were employed in trucking-related activities across all US industries in 2005. Of these, 3.4 million are professional truck drivers.
