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02
Sep
Labor Day Special: Trucking Industry in 2019
Trucker | Pixabay
Today, we are celebrating Labor Day. We would like to take this opportunity to show our appreciation to everyone who belongs to the country’s workforce. Without you, the U.S. economy will not grow.
In this article, we’d like to present a couple of facts about the U.S. trucking industry. Here are a few key points of this article.
Did you know that?
- Five percent of full-time jobs in the U.S. is in the trucking industry.
- Most truckers in the U.S. earn below the average wage.
- The U.S. trucking industry is worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Read on to know more about the role of the trucking industry.
Trucking | Pixabay
The U.S. economy depends on truckers.
According to data, around 70% of all American freight is moved by trucking. This results in more than 5% of full-time trucking jobs in the county.
Yearly, the millions of truckers in the industry generated hundreds of billions of dollars. Both producers and consumers are dependent on the trucking industry. Oil, food, goods, and many more are moved by truckers across the states.
The trucking industry is old yet still a vital part of the U.S. economy.
Highway | Pixabay
Almost 6% of jobs are trucking-related.
In 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were about 129 million jobs in the U.S. And, 7.4 million are in the trucking industry. That is equivalent to around 6% of full-time jobs.
The U.S. trucking industry generated revenue higher than 150 nations’ GDP in 2017.
$700 million was generated by the American trucking industry in 2017. That was a little less than the GDP of Colombia and more than the GDP of Bangladesh. (CIA Factbook)
If it were a nation, it would’ve been at the 33rd rank when it came to GDP that year.
Logistics | Pixabay
11 billion tons of freight was moved by trucks in 2017.
Almost 11 billion tons of freight was moved by American truckers in 2017. (ATA) That is equivalent to 30 pounds of goods for every U.S. citizen, including men, women, and children.
8,600 truckers are employed by Walmart alone.
The shopping giant Walmart has been employing their own truckers in the past years. They hired around 1,400 new drivers in 2018 and a couple hundreds more in 2019. The average annual income of their drivers is about $88,000.
Trucks | Pixabay
Minorities hold 40% of jobs in the U.S. trucking industry.
About 40.6% of trucking jobs and 22% of all jobs in the country are held by minorities.
70% of all goods in the U.S. are shipped by trucks.
More than 71% of U.S. goods are moved by trucks. That outdoes boats, trains, and air when it comes to interstate freight shipping.
Grocery Store | Pixabay
If truckers stopped driving, most grocery stores would be out of food in 3 days.
Contrary to how it looks like, food supplies in the grocery stores are limited. But in reality, these supermarkets would run out of supplies in just 3 days if the truckers suddenly stopped moving the goods.
Delivery Truck | Pixabay
Not even one of the trucking industry regulators was a truck driver.
The FMCSA or Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is the entity in charge of trucking laws and regulations in the U.S. However, not even one of the administrators has a background in the trucking industry or held a commercial driver’s license.
Truck | Pixabay
Truckers log an average of 100,000 miles a year.
Most truck drivers log an average of 3,000 miles a week (based on restrictions on the hours of service per day and per week). If you add it up to a year that would be equivalent to 100,000 miles.
The average motorist drives about 13,500 miles a year.
Truckers earn less than most Americans annually.
The trucking industry has been continually growing and needing more truck drivers. Ironically, the trucking profession is not as lucrative as other jobs.
The median annual income in 2018 was around $46,800, while the median annual income for truckers was around $43,680.
Semi Truck | Pixabay
The trucking industry might need more truckers, according to experts.
The American Trucking Association released an announcement in 2018 stating that the trucking industry needed to employ around 900,000 truck drivers to fill in the demands on the industry.
However, a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics contradicts this statement.
US Trucks | Pixabay
And that was it. We hope that you enjoyed reading this post and have a meaningful Labor Day! Kudos!
If this post has been helpful, feel free to share it on social media. You can also leave a comment below.
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