subject: Trucking Is Big Business [print this page] There's no denying it, the U.S would likely grind to a halt, if trucking stopped. Agreed, some movement can be made by railroad, but that only gets the goods as far as a railroad station where a truck is needed to transport the goods to their ultimate destinations. Statistically 70 percent of goods are delivered by trucks so the U.S. economy is wholly reliant on truckers which place them in a powerful position. The trucking industry is massive; nearly 9 million people are employed in jobs that involve trucking one way or another. Of those 9 million jobs, over 3.6 million are the actual truckers; the guys responsible for getting the things you want to the places where you can buy them. No truckers, no food, no clothes, essentially, nothing. You know there are millions of trucks on the highways; you get stuck behind them every day, in fact there are about 15 million trucks around, but obviously they are not all on the road at the same time; trucks are being loaded, unloaded, repaired and so on, but it's a 24 hour job. There are around half a million truck companies, most are fairly small owner operated. Between them they clock up well in excess of 500 billion, yes billion, miles each year; that's a truly staggering statistic. There's no denying it, the U.S would likely grind to a halt if trucking stopped. Agreed, some movement can be made by railroad, but that only gets the goods as far as a railroad station where a truck is needed to transport the goods to their ultimate destinations. Statistically, 70 percent of goods are delivered by trucks so the U.S. economy is wholly reliant on truckers which places them in a powerful position.
The trucking industry is massive; nearly 9 million people are employed in jobs that involve trucking one way or another. Of those 9 million jobs, over 3.6 million are the actual truckers; the guys responsible for getting the things you want to the places where you can buy them. No truckers no food, no clothes, in fact nothing.
You know there are millions of trucks on the highways; you get stuck behind them every day, in fact there are about 15 million trucks around, but obviously they are not all on the road at the same time; trucks are being loaded, unloaded, repaired and so on, but it's a 24 hour job.
There are around half a million truck companies, most are fairly small owner operated. Between them they clock up well in excess of 500 billion, yes billion, miles each year; that's a truly staggering statistic.
On the financial side the trucking statistics are equally astounding. The industry produces revenues substantially in excess of $300 billion. A trucker gets on average about 30 cents for every mile he or she travels, so the average income is about $40,000.
The industry consumes a lot of fuel; nearly 60 billion gallons a year and pays about $40 billion in taxes. Unfortunately, with so many trucks on the roads there has to be accidents. The size and weight of a truck doesn't give a car driver a lot of chance, if one comes careering in your direction.
The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that there are in excess of 600,000 accidents involving trucks and cars each year; it's not possible to have an exact number, because not all accidents are fully reported to the authorities. However, after investigation, it has been ascertained that about 75 percent of accidents that involved trucks and cars were actually caused by the driver of the car. In some cases it was considered that both parties were to blame for the accident, but only 16 percent were totally blamed on the truck driver.
Interestingly, most accidents occur in daylight hours; although that may be because there is more traffic on the road. However, there are more accidents at weekends than weekdays; no specific reason is given for this statistic, but it is possible that there are more drivers who are not so skilled at driving on the road during the weekends.
Unfortunately, if a car gets involved in an accident with a truck, it's obvious which vehicle will be worse affected and this of course also translates to which driver will be injured more.On the financial side the trucking statistics are equally astounding. The industry produces revenues substantially in excess of $300 billion. A trucker gets on average about 30 cents for every mile he or she travels, so the average income is about $40,000. The industry consumes a lot of fuel; nearly 60 billion gallons a year and pays about $40 billion in taxes. Unfortunately, with so many trucks on the roads there has to be accidents. The size and weight of a truck doesn't give a car driver a lot of chance, if one comes careering in your direction. The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that there are in excess of 600,000 accidents involving trucks and cars each year; it's not possible to have an exact number, because not all accidents are fully reported to the authorities. However, after investigation, it has been ascertained that about 75 percent of accidents that involved trucks and cars were actually caused by the driver of the car. In some cases it was considered that both parties were to blame for the accident, but only 16 percent were totally blamed on the truck driver. Interestingly, most accidents occur in daylight hours; although that may be because there is more traffic on the road. However, there are more accidents at weekends than weekdays; no specific reason is given for this statistic, but it is possible that there are more drivers who are not so skilled at driving on the road during the weekends. Unfortunately, if a car gets involved in an accident with a truck, it's obvious which vehicle will be worse affected and this of course also translates to which driver will be injured more.
