Added on September 14, 2017  The News Wheel   , ,
No Comments

15 Fun Facts About Trucks and Trucking

Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page
big rig semi truck blue trucker highway
Photo: Raymondclarkeimages via CC

In Honor of National Truck Drivers Appreciation Week, here are 15 cool facts about trucks, truckers, and the industry.

1)  Only 6% of truck drivers are women.

2) Truckers who drive for small businesses drive more than 3 million miles in their lifetime, which breaks down to a yearly average of more than 115,000 miles.

3) Truckers spend more than 240 nights away from home each year.

4) 70% of all U.S. freight is transported via Class 8 trucks.

5) In just the last few years, Class 8 truck sales have risen 45%.

6) In the U.S. alone, 8.9 million people have a job in the truck industry; 3.5 million of these are truck drivers.

7) Small business trucking companies comprise 90% of the industry.

8) Truckers pay about 36% of taxes and fees related to the Highway Trust Fund, even though they compose only 7% of the overall traffic.

9)  The average commercial truck consumes 20,500 gallons of gas each year.

UPS truck parked on city street
Photo: dave_7 via CC

10) Thanks to clean diesel technology, 60 modern-day trucks put out the equivalent emission of a single truck from 1988.

11) Emissions from heavy trucks have been cut over 95% in the past two decades, due to EPA regulations.

12) There are about 15.5 million active trucks in the U.S. trucking industry.

13) If you could line up all U.S. trucks, they would reach the moon.

14) Charles Freuhauf, a German-American blacksmith, invented the first tractor trailer back in 1914 because he needed a way to transport his boat.

15) The truck industry is predicted to grow up to 21% in the next ten years.

Sources: Tetracapital, Ooida, Planet Freight, Popular Mechanics, Fueloyal, Road Scholar