ATA: Trucking still rules freight movement

The trucking industry generated almost $792 billion in revenue in 2019, moving 11.84 billion tons of freight, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) said.

The two figures are among the highlights of the annual data n the American Trucking Trends 2020 report.

The industry employed 7.95 million people in trucking-related positions, up 140,000 from 2018. Professional drivers account for 3.6 million jobs. Women make up 6.7% and minorities account for 41.5% of drivers.

Among the report’s other findings:

• Trucking’s revenues in 2019 accounted for 80.4% of the nation’s freight bill.
• Trucks moved 67.7% of surface freight between the United States and Canada and 83.1% of cross-border trade with Mexico, totaling $772 billion of goods.
• Most carriers are small companies – 91.3% of fleets operate six or fewer trucks and 97.4% operate 20 or fewer.

“Despite a challenging year… the industry was in good shape entering the global pandemic,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said.  

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