The trucking industry has given jobs to over 3.5 million truckers. According to the ATA, the industry itself employs a total of eight million employees. That includes truckers, dispatchers, and office workers for the industry. For those who struggle with math, that’s over 2% of jobs across the United States.
You’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again – trucking moves America.
As a result of the sheer volume of truckers in the United States, you will also notice a plethora of mind-blowing statistics.
Here are 5 crazy trucking facts
1. Around $50 billion is paid in trucking-related taxes each year
One of the aspects of trucking that isn’t often spoken about is also one of the least desirable topics – taxes. I won’t bore you with the details but if you weren’t already aware, truckers pay a lot of taxes just to own a truck. Apparently, this number sits around $50 billion per year. That’s over $3,000 per truck.
2. Over 300 billion yearly miles are registered by truck drivers
There are a handful of numbers thrown around when it comes to distance traveled by truck drivers in a year. The most reliable is 300 billion, according to trucking.org. That number is from 2020, too, which means that it could be even higher in recent years.
3. Over-the-road truckers spend over 240 nights per year away from their families
Trucking is a lifestyle. Plenty of jobs, such as an office job, will tell you that working at their company is a “lifestyle.” Usually, that’s an exaggeration. In the trucking world, it may actually be an under-exaggeration. Truck drivers, live and breathe trucking, as many of them spend weeks away from their families at a time. According to JIT Truck Parts, this adds up to around 240 nights per year.
4. Semi-trucks need three football fields of space to stop
As somebody who works in the industry, this is something that I hear all of the time. At times, it seems repetitive, but the more I drive, the more I notice four-wheelers cutting off big rigs in tight traffic situations. If you do this and get honked at by a trucker, you are the problem.
5. The transportation industry uses over 46 billion gallons of diesel fuel per year
Ever wonder why truckers never complain about regular gasoline for their cars? Currently, they’re paying a dollar more per gallon in a vehicle that has significantly worse fuel mileage.