Trucking is the vital transportation link not only for domestic goods, but also international products.  Imported goods from overseas have to be moved multiple times from port to final destination. But, perhaps even more important, is the role that trucks play in the enormous amount of trade that flows over our northern and southern borders. Canada and Mexico now rank one and three, respectively, in terms of the top U.S. trading partners, since China surpassed Mexico as our second largest trading partner in 2006. In 2008, trucks hauled nearly 54 percent of the goods (in terms of value) between the U.S. and Canada, and over 63 percent between the U.S. and Mexico. As the North American economies become more interrelated, as well as global, trucking’s importance in international trade should only grow.  

Over 29 million trucks (all classes) hauled over 10.2 billion tons of freight. Of the more than 29 million trucks, nearly 3 million were Class 8 vehicles.²  Also, there were 5.6 million commercial trailers registered in 2007.

All trucks (excluding vehicles used by the government and on farms, but including all weight classes) used for business purposes logged a total of 431 billion miles in 2007, which accounted for 14.2 percent of all motor vehicle miles and 32.2 percent of all truck miles. According to an analysis by Martin Labbe Associates for ATA, Class 8 trucks drove a total of 128.4 billion miles, which means that, on average, a Class 8 truck drove over 45,000 miles in 2007, although many long-haul Class 8 trucks travel in excess of 100,000 miles each year.

In 2007, trucks (all classes) consumed 55.1 billion gallons of fuel, including both diesel and gasoline.  Most heavy-duty trucks run on diesel fuel, which is why over 70 percent of all fuel burned by trucks is diesel fuel, equating to 39.7 billion gallons annually. Based on consumption and price, ATA reported that motor carriers spent over $114 billion on diesel fuel in 2007. In 2008, ATA estimates that the industry’s diesel fuel bill surged to $146.2 billion, which was an all-time high. 

Before the motor carrier industry was initially deregulated by the Motor Carrier Act of 1980, there were fewer than 20,000 interstate motor carriers in the U.S. By November 2009, there were more than 227,000 for-hire motor carriers on file with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), with an additional 282,000 private fleets. There were also 81,000 “other” interstate motor carriers according to the U.S. DOT.³  While this is a significant amount of trucking companies, the vast majority of them are small businesses, with 96 percent operating fewer than 20 trucks and nearly 88 percent operating six trucks or less. Consequently, the trucking industry is a highly fragmented industry, resulting in intense competition (both price and non-price competition) and low profit margins.

The trucking industry is a major employer in the U.S. Across all industries, 7.3 million people were employed in trucking-related jobs in 2008. Nearly 3.4 million of these workers were truck drivers.

1 Both the tonnage and revenue statistics come from U.S. Freight Transportation Forecast to…2020, produced by Global Insight (USA), Inc. for ATA. The U.S. Freight Transportation Forecast to…2020 provides tonnage and revenue data for all other modes of freight transportation as well.  Visit www.atabusinesssolutions.com for more information. 

2 Class 8 trucks have a gross vehicle weight of over 33,000 pounds and are typically tractor-trailer combinations, although the classification does include straight trucks as well.