Trucking Industry Facts – 2010

Excerpted from the American Trucking Associations Website

The Trucking Industry

The U.S. trucking industry is comprised of over 227,930 for-hire carriers and more than
282,485 private carriers; 96.0% with less than 20 trucks.
The tucking industry employs 7.3 million people employed throughout the economy in jobs
that relate to trucking activity in 2008, excluding self-employed.
In tonnage, trucks carried 68.8% of all freight – 10.2 billion tons in 2008.
In 2007, trucks hauled over $8.3 trillion worth of merchandise.

Professional Truck Drivers
There are 3.39 million truck drivers employed in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of
Labor.
The average daily run for a long-haul, over-the-road truck driver is nearly 500 miles.
A majority of long-haul, over-the-road truck drivers will drive, on average, 100,000 to 110,000
miles per year.

Safety
In 2007, the large truck fatal crash rate was a record low 1.85 fatal crashes per 100 million
vehicle miles traveled. Compared with 1.93 fatal crashes per 100 million vehicles miles in
2006. This has decreased 60 percent from 4.58 in 1975, the first year the USDOT began
keeping records.
AAA found in July 2002 that 80 percent of crashes were caused by car drivers.
For all fatal large truck crashes, the FMCSA estimated fatigue to be a primary factor in only 7.0
percent.

The Future of the Trucking Industry

By the Year 2020:
The U.S. freight transportation industry will carry 18.8 billion tons of freight, generating $1.3
trillion in revenue, representing a 68.5% increase over 2008 revenue of $794.9 billion.
Trucking will account for $1.3 trillion of all freight transportation revenue, a 68.5% increase
over 2008.
The trucking industry will haul 70.9% of total U.S. freight tonnage.