Expert Witness Blog
Trucking industry expert witnesses may opine on the transportation and logistics industry. Here the American Trucking Association describes how trucks are responsible for the majority of freight movement over land, and are vital tools in the manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing industries.
With as many as 750,000 interstate motor carriers in the United States, the trucking industry is the driving force behind the U.S. economy. Trucking does the heavy lifting to move, through the supply chain, nearly everything we consume or use. Few Americans realize, however, that trucks deliver 70 percent of all freight tonnage or that 80 percent of U.S. communities receive their goods exclusively by truck. Even fewer know that the motor carrier industry provides jobs and generates significant personal income and tax revenue.
It takes nearly 9 million people to move about 11 billion tons of freight annually. Trucking collects more than $650 billion in revenue and represents about 5 percent of U.S. Gross Domestic Product. One out of every 13 people working in the private sector in the United States is employed in a trucking-related job across manufacturing, retail, public utility, construction, service, transportation, mining and agricultural sectors. Of those, 3.5 million are commercial drivers, averaging $50,000 annually. Some earn well above $100,000 per year.