Trucking industry in the United States

Nowadays a lot of young men and women are interested in the trucking industry. Is it profitable to be a trucker? Does transport business has any future in the United States? We decided to answer these and many more questions and made this short article, which should satisfy your curiosity and help you understand whether you should start working in the trucking industry.

History of American trucking industry

First trucks appeared on American roads in the beginning of the 20th century. In 1933, American Trucking Associations was formed. Six years later, the federal government issued hours-of-service constraints for transporting companies.

With the end of the World War Two in 1945, many soldiers came home and started families. Cities started to grow; therefore, businesses began to move out to the edges of cities to the quickly developing suburbs. The better part of inhabitants of these growing communities could afford cars or motorcycles, occupying narrow undeveloped roads. Buses also started to appear more often, further increasing the need for a better road network.

With the vastly increasing population of the United States increased the demand for transportation services. In 1956, American government started to work on the national inter-regional highway project, called “Interstate Highway System”. It was meant to create a network of freeways that allowed bigger trucks to travel at higher speeds through suburban and urban areas.

The project consisted of a road system with a length of 65 thousands of kilometers. American engineers designed highways to reach every city with a population over a one hundred thousand. At the same time, famous industrialist Malcom McLean developed a new method of transportation using intermodal shipping container. His invention made a huge impact on the trucking industry, allowing for more efficient cargo transfer.

By the start of the 1970s, the trucking industry had a heyday. Truckers were treated as modern-day cowboys and outcasts, attracting more young people into this business. Standard accessories like checkered shirts, trucker hats, citizens’ band radios become popular not just with truck drivers but among the ordinary people.

Around 1990, the Interstate Highway System was finally completed. It cost more than 100 billions of dollars. Thanks to it, any family now can easily travel around the whole country. It has also helped to develop the container trucking industry, which has been proficient and stable and remains so to this day.

American trucking industry now

The third of all roads on Earth are concentrated in North America, making US road network the largest. As a result, 70% of cargo transportation in the United States is performed by truckers. The market employs about half a million transport companies, the vast majority of which are small. The annual income from this business reaches 250 billion dollars.

Overall, about 15 millions trucks ride every day on the roads of the United States. The economy of the country, being the largest in the world, depends on the trucking industry. Truck alone transport estimated 670 billions of dollars worth of goods every year.

Let us compare trucking industry in America with other countries. Salary of an American trucker starts from 30 thousands of dollars a year with an average of $60k. It is among the best results in the world — see for yourself:

• UK truckers earn about 4000 pounds (around 5300 American dollars) each month;
• Polish drivers get around 5000 zloty (about $850) each month;
• An average driver in Russia gets paid 60000 rubles (around a thousand of US dollars) every month;
• Ireland truckers earn 2500 euros per month (nearly 3000 US dollars);
• Drivers in Germany and Austria receive 5000 euros ($6k) on average;
• Monthly salary of Belarus drivers is 1000 euros ($1200).