Trucking Industry Trends, Statistics, & Forecast – 2024 Edition

Updated 8/20/2024

Trucking is the backbone of the American supply chain, but just how big is the industry?

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That's a question without a single answer but based on our research:

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There are 13 million trucks registered in the US, 2.9 million of which are semi-trucks
In 2022, the trucking industry did $940.8 billion in gross freight revenue
1.86 million companies operate a semi-truck, straight truck, or other hazmat truck

Keep reading below to learn more about the industry, how big it is, and where it's going.

Table of Contents

Vehicle Statistics

Driver Statistics

Trucking Company Statistics

Market Size & Financial Statistics

Truck Accidents

Mileage & Fuel Consumption

Top 100 Trucking Companies by Revenue

Sources

About the author

Scott Elgin of Elgin Trucking & TruckInfo.net

Scott Elgin has been in the trucking business since 1982, acting as both a motor carrier and a freight agent. During this time, he has overseen thousands of units servicing the entire continental United States.

Vehicle Statistics

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How many trucks are there in the US?

There are 13.5 million trucks registered in the US. Of this figure, 2.97 million are tractor-trailers and 10.5 million are single-unit trucks (aka straight trucks).¹

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Note: The 13.5 million truck statistic above only includes trucks with a gross vehicle weight of over 10,000 pounds. There are an additional 48 million pickups and 75k light trucks (anything under 10k pounds that is not categorized as a pickup or other vehicle type) in the US.

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How many semi-trucks are there in the US?

There are 2.97 million semi-trucks registered in the US.¹

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How many trucks are sold each year?

476k commercial trucks were sold in 2022. Of those, more than 29k were Class 8 trucks.²

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How long are semi-trucks?

Federal guidelines require all states to allow semi-trucks to haul trailers of at least 48 feet.

Driver Statistics

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How many truck drivers are there in the US?

There are 3.5 million truck drivers in the US. This figure includes both employee and self-employed drivers of semi-trucks and other truck types.³

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Of this figure, 1.98 million employee truck drivers operate heavy and tractor-trailer vehicles. This figure does not include self-employed truck drivers, only employee drivers.⁴

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How many owner operators are there in the US?

There are 587k self-employed truck drivers, commonly referred to as owner operators.

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351k thousand of these owner-operators are classified as long-distance truckers.³

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What percentage of truck drivers are owner operators?

Roughly 16% of all truck drivers are owner operators.

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How much do truck drivers make?

Truck drivers earned a median salary of $49,920 in 2022.⁴

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Note: The above figure only includes employee drivers operating heavy and tractor-trailer vehicles. Employee Drivers operating light or delivery vehicles had a median salary of $40,410 in 2022.

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In 2021, contracted owner operators were paid an average of $1.81 per mile.⁵

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Graph of trucking industry businesses, workers, and payroll employee by type of trucking — Employee truck driver pay vs owner operator pay by type of trucking

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How many truck drivers are women?

There are approximately 283k women truck drivers in the US.⁶

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What percentage of truck drivers are female?

Approximately 8% of truck drivers are female.^{3 & 6}

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How many truck drivers are minorities and what is the ethnic breakdown?

As of 2022, approximately 25.9% percent of truck drivers were classified as non-White, non-Hispanic.⁶ This figure has been increasing over time as the country's demographics have changed, according to the US Census Bureau.

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A bar chart of truck drivers' race and hispanic origin by age — Race & Hispanic origin by age

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How old are truck drivers?

The median age of all truck drivers is 45.8 years old.⁶

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Truckers' educational attainment by age

Most truckers have a high school diploma or GED. Very few truck drivers have a bachelor's degree or higher.³

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Graph of truck drivers educational attainment by age — Educational attainment by age

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What is the average age of truck drivers?

The median age of all truck drivers is 45.8 years old.⁶

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Truckers' educational attainment by age

Most truckers have a high school diploma or GED. Very few truck drivers have a bachelor's degree or higher.³

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Truck drivers vs all workers

Compared to other professions, truck drivers are much more likely to be male, have a high school diploma or some college, and be a veteran. Truckers are also more likely to have no health insurance and more likely to work more than 40 hours per week.³

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Graph comparing truck driver characteristics vs all workers — Characteristics of truck drivers vs all workers

Trucking Company Statistics

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How many trucking companies are there in the US?

As of June 2023, there were 1.86 million companies with a tractor-trailer, straight truck, or hazmat truck. Of this figure, 1.1 million companies were for-hire trucking companies (motor carriers). The remaining companies were either private carriers or classified as "other" by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

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When looking at just companies operating tractor-trailers, there were 774k companies, 598k of which were for-hire trucking companies.⁷

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For-hire motor carrier registrations by number of power units

Among for-hire carriers, 70% of all trucking companies only have one power unit and 97% have 10 power units or fewer.⁷

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Graph of trucking companies by fleet size — For-hire trucking companies (all truck types)

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Similarly, among for-hire carriers operating tractor-trailers, nearly 65% of trucking companies only have one power unit and 95% have 10 power units or fewer.

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Graph of semi-truck companies by fleet size — For-hire trucking companies (tractor-trailer only)

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Employer vs non-employer trucking companies

As of 2019, there were 844,371 trucking businesses. 123,371 of these firms were classified as employer firms, with the remaining 721,000 firms classified as non-employer firms.³

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Graph of trucking companies by firm size and number of employees — Employer & non-employer trucking firm stats

Notes: The US Census Bureau defines a trucking business as a company with a NAICS code of 484.

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Operating authority trends

Over the past 6 months, the number of carrier operating authorities has decreased by around 11k carriers.⁷

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Graph of property carrier operating authorities over time — Property carrier operating authorities over time

Market Size & Financial Statistics

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Transportation industry revenue

The US transportation industry recorded 1.16 trillion dollars in revenue in 2022.⁸

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Trucking industry revenue

In 2022, trucking recorded $940.8 billion in gross freight revenues, making up 80.7% of the transportation industry.⁸

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Trucking company profit margin

The typical for-hire trucking company has an operating profit of 7-18%. It's important to note that operating profit is calculated by taking total revenue and subtracting out operational expenses only. The figure does not take into account debt financing, interest, taxes, or other expenses.^4,8

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What is the average cost-per-mile?

In 2021, trucking companies saw an average cost-per-mile of $1.855.⁵

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What are the biggest expenses for trucking companies?

The biggest expenses for trucking companies are driver wages followed by fuel, equipment costs, and insurance.⁵

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Table of cost per mile expenses for trucking companies by fleet size — Cost per mile by fleet size

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Is the trucking industry growing?

Yes. While the trucking industry saw major growth during the COVID-19 pandemic followed by a slowdown into the summer of 2023, the industry is still projected to nearly double between 2023 and 2050.⁴

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What percent of freight is move by truck?

In 2022, roughly 72% of all freight tonnage was moved by truck, which was more than 13.1 billion tons of freight.⁸

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Value of trade between US & Canada / US & Mexico

In 2020, the US imported 170 billion dollars of goods via truck from Canada and exported 196 billion dollars in goods. Trade by truck accounted for 55.2% of total trade between the US and Canada.

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In 2020, the US imported 279 billion dollars of goods via truck from Mexico and exported 181 billion dollars in goods. This accounted for 69.7% of total trade done by land transportation between the US and Mexico.⁴

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Federal & state taxes paid for each gallon of diesel and gasoline

As of 1/1/23, the federal tax on a gallon of diesel was 24.40 cents. For gasoline, the federal tax was 18.40 cents per gallon.

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The average state tax on a gallon of diesel was 33.88 cents per gallon. For gasoline, the figure was 31.63 cents per gallon.⁹

Truck Accident Statistics

RELATED: See our in-depth report dedicated to just truck accident statistics.

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How many truck accidents are there in the US every year?

In 2022, there were 166,853 accidents involving a large truck in the US. 99,600 semi-trucks were involved in these accidents.⁷

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Note: The FMCSA defines "large truck" as a commercial truck with a gross vehicle weight rating or gross combination weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds.

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RELATED: See the best hot shot insurance companies of 2023 for class 3, 4, and 5 trucks.

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How many people are injured every year in truck accidents?

In 2022, 72,137 people were injured in accidents involving a large truck. ⁷That's one person injured in a truck accident every 7 minutes.

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How many truck accidents are fatal?

4,768 truck accidents were fatal in 2022, or 2.8% of accidents involving a large truck. 3,175 semi-trucks were involved in these accidents.

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However, the number of fatalities from these incidents is even higher because there can be multiple fatalities per accident.

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In 2022, there were 5,276 total fatalities from accidents involving a large truck. That's one truck accident fatality every 1 hour and 40 minutes.

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Approximately 71% of fatalities are occupants in the other vehicle, 18% are occupants of the truck, and 11% are non-occupants.⁷

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Where do most truck accidents occur?

Approximately 65% of truck accidents occur on interstate highways and other freeways.

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Approximately 55% of these accidents occur in rural areas, with the remaining 45% occurring in urban environments.⁷

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States with the most fatal truck accidents

In 2022, Texas had the most fatal truck accidents of any state.⁷

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Heatmap of fatal truck accidents by state in 2022 — 2022 fatal truck accidents by state

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When do most truck accidents occur?

Statistically speaking, most truck accidents occur Tuesday through Thursday from 12-3pm.⁷

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Time of Day

The most common time of truck accidents is between 12pm and 3pm. Roughly 73% of truck accidents occur between 6am and 6pm. ⁷

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Day of Week

Most truck accidents occur midweek with around 53% occurring on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. In 2022, Thursday had the most truck accidents.⁷

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Month of Year

In 2022, December had the most truck accidents while April had the fewest.⁷

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Average cost of an accident

While data isn't collected for truck accidents specifically, the National Safety Council has calculated the average economic cost of motor-vehicle accidents by injury severity¹⁰:

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Death – $1,778,000
Disabling Injury – $155,000
Evident Injury – $40,000
Possible Injury – $24,000
No Injury – $6,700
Property Damage (per vehicle) – $5,700

RELATED: See our guides to car hauler insurance and the best commercial truck insurance companies.

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Mileage & Fuel Consumption

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How many miles do trucks drive a year?

In 2020, semi-trucks and single-unit trucks traveled a combined 297 billion miles.¹

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How many miles do semi-trucks drive a year?

In 2020, semi-trucks traveled 179.8 billion miles.¹

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What is the average MPG for trucks?

In 2020, semi-trucks and single-unit trucks averaged 6.6 miles per gallon.¹

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RELATED: See our guide on the best fuel cards for truckers to see how you can save on fuel.

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What is the average MPG for semi-trucks?

In 2020, semi-trucks averaged 6.2 miles per gallon.¹

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How many gallons of fuel do semi-trucks consume a year?

In 2020, tractor-trailers consumed an average of 9,796 gallons of fuel with an average MPG of 6.2.¹‍

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In 2022, semi-trucks consumed a combined 29 billion gallons of fuel.

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What is the average MPG for box trucks?

In 2020, single-unit trucks averaged 7.6 miles per gallon.¹

Top Trucking Companies by Revenue

(For-Hire Only)

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Rank | Company | Revenue

#1. UPS Inc. – $97,300,000,000
#2. FedEx Corp. – $91,683,000,000
#3. XPO – $12,800,000,000
#4. J.B. Hunt Transport Services – $12,168,000,000
#5. TFI International – $7,220,000,000
#6. Landstar System – $6,538,000,000
#7. Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings – $6,000,000,000
#8. Schneider – $5,600,000,000
#9. Old Dominion Freight Line – $5,256,000,000
#10. Yellow Corp. – $5,122,000,000
#11. Ryder Supply Chain Solutions – $4,612,000,000
#12. Estes Express Lines – $4,447,000,000
#13. Hub Group – $4,232,000,000
#14. ArcBest – $3,980,000,000
#15. Penske Logistics – $3,700,000,000
#16. NFI – $3,100,000,000
#17. Werner Enterprises – $2,734,000,000
#18. Purolator – $2,600,000,000
#19. R+L Carriers – $2,427,000,000
#20. Prime Inc. – $2,408,000,000
#21. Saia Inc. – $2,300,000,000
#22. Evans Delivery – $2,050,000,000
#23. U.S. Xpress Enterprises – $1,949,000,000
#24. Kenan Advantage Group – $1,904,000,000
#25. CRST The Transportation Solution – $1,800,000,000
#26. Universal Logistics Holdings – $1,751,000,000
#27. Forward Air – $1,662,000,000
#27. OnTrac Inc. – $1,662,000,000
#29. C.R. England – $1,644,000,000
#30. Anderson Trucking Service – $1,567,000,000
#31. Daseke Inc. – $1,557,000,000
#32. Averitt Express – $1,532,000,000
#33. UniGroup – $1,499,000,000
#34. Day & Ross – $1,489,000,000
#35. Southeastern Freight Lines – $1,476,000,000
#36. PS Logistics – $1,375,000,000
#37. Crete Carrier Corp. – $1,304,000,000
#38. Ruan – $1,227,820,000
#39. Lynden – $1,080,000,000
#40. Covenant Logistics Group – $1,046,000,000
#40. Central Transport International – $1,046,000,000
#42. Bennett International Group – $998,000,000
#43. IMC Cos. – $983,000,000
#44. Cardinal Logistics – $981,000,000
#45. Western Express – $977,000,000
#46. Atlas World Group – $974,000,000
#46. Marten Transport – $974,000,000
#48. KLLM Transport Services – $953,000,000
#49. 10 Roads Express – $917,000,000
#50. Pitt Ohio Transportation Group – $900,000,000
#51. Quality Carriers – $850,000,000
#52. Mullen Group – $838,000,000
#53. Bison Transport – $778,000,000
#54. AAA Cooper Transportation – $776,000,000
#55. Stevens Transport – $745,000,000
#56. United Road Services – $713,000,000
#57. USA Truck (DB Schenker) – $710,000,000
#58. P.A.M. Transport – $707,100,000
#59. Canada Cartage System – $701,000,000
#60. Dayton Freight Lines – $684,000,000
#61. R&R Express – $680,000,000
#62. Cowan Systems – $655,000,000
#63. A. Duie Pyle Inc. – $628,000,000
#64. Hirschbach Motor Lines – $626,000,000
#65. Mercer Transportation Co. – $614,000,000
#66. Heartland Express – $607,000,000
#67. Trimac Transportation – $600,000,000
#68. Heniff Transportation Systems – $562,000,000
#69. Two Men and a Truck Movers – $525,000,000
#70. Roehl Transport – $521,000,000
#71. Jack Cooper Holdings – $507,000,000
#72. Fastfrate Group – $500,000,000
#73. Mesilla Valley Transportation – $494,000,000
#74. Quantix Supply Chain Solutions – $454,000,000
#75. TMC Transportation – $450,000,000
#76. Foodliner/Quest Liner – $437,000,000
#77. Roadrunner Freight – $430,000,000
#78. Challenger Motor Freight – $402,000,000
#79. Maverick USA – $398,000,000
#80. Daylight Transport – $380,000,000
#81. Dart Transit Co. – $377,600,000
#82. Red Classic – $365,000,000
#83. Dependable Supply Chain Services – $363,000,000
#84. Dupré Logistics – $360,000,000
#85. Koch Cos. – $359,000,000
#86. Melton Truck Lines – $338,000,000
#87. John Christner Trucking – $334,000,000
#88. Leonard's Express – $327,000,000
#89. Western Flyer Express – $320,000,000
#90. Trans-System Inc. – $315,000,000
#91. Beemac Trucking – $301,000,000
#92. New Legend Inc. – $294,000,000
#93. ContainerPort Group – $287,000,000
#94. Oak Harbor Freight Lines – $284,000,000
#95. Transervice Logistics – $278,300,000
#96. Artur Express – $272,000,000
#97. Paschall Truck Lines – $265,000,000
#98. PGT Trucking – $253,700,000
#99. Smith Transport – $246,000,000
#100. Paper Transport – $244,000,000