Four mind-blowing facts about America’s trucking industry

Here at Double D Distribution, we’re proud to contribute to America’s thriving trucking industry. Although we’re familiar with how vital trucking is, many members of the general public don’t. Business Insider recently published a list titled, “11 incredible facts about the $700 billion dollar US trucking industry.”

We highly encourage you to read the article in full (the link is at the bottom of this post) but it also inspired us to take a closer look at four of those amazing statistics:

5.8% of all full-time American jobs are related to trucking. The United States economy is experiencing robust growth. As commerce continues to expand internationally and technologies like 5G and the IoT expand, the need for transportation is only going to continue to grow. In 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 5.8% of full-time jobs are a direct result of trucking. That’s nearly 7.4 million people!

In 2017, trucks moved 10.8 billion tons of freight. Yes. You read that right.10.8 billion with a b. If that’s not enough to make your jaw hit the floor, consider this: Thanks to the rise of e-commerce and last-mile delivery challenges, that number is going to continue to rise.

More than 40% of jobs in the trucking industry are held by minorities. The trucking industry is a proud, equal opportunity employer. The last few years, an array of trucking outfits have faced employment challenges, but that’s starting to change thanks to inclusive hiring practices. Data suggests more women and minorities are pursuing trucking careers and getting hired.

Trucks move 70% of transported goods around the US. Think about that for a second. If trucking didn’t exist, only 30% of goods in grocery and big-box stores would make it to their intended destination. Trucks are our lifelines, and we’d be hard pressed without them.

Which of these trucking facts did you find most surprising? Visit our Facebook page and let us know!

Source: Business Insider