ATA publishes latest 'yearbook' of trucking facts, figures

American Trucking Associations has released the latest edition of its almanac of trucking, and the annual roundup of facts and figures shows the industry posted gains in employment, truck sales, and revenue through 2015.

“According to our data, trucking revenues topped $700 billion for a second straight year, setting an all-time record of $726.4 billion in 2015, while trucks moved more than 10 billion tons of freight,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “While the first half of 2016 has been challenging for the industry, trucking is coming off two very strong years and we are optimistic about the future.”

Among the findings in ATA American Trucking Trends 2016:

• Trucking collected $726.4 billion in gross freight revenues, 81.5% of the nation’s freight bill in 2015.
• Trucks carried 10.49 tons of freight in 2015, accounting for 70.1% of domestic freight tonnage.
• In 2015, there were 3.63 million Class 8 trucks in operation.
• The number of active truck drivers in the U.S. increased to 3.469 million in 2015, of which 5.8% were women and 38.6% were minority.
• In 2015, 310 motor carriers with at least five trucks went out of business, which was 73.4% lower than the previous year.

Trends also includes data on:

• Amount of taxes the industry paid.
• The number of miles combination trucks traveled and the amount of fuel they consumed.
• Key employment data, including the number of persons working in trucking related jobs throughout all industries, number of drivers and how many women are truck drivers.
• Number of trucking companies by company size.

“In many ways, 2015 was a good year for our industry, and Trends clearly demonstrates that,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “Despite the current tough freight market in the first half of 2016, mainly due to elevated inventory levels, we remain optimistic about trucking’s future. But no matter what the environment is, accurate data and information are critical to making good decisions.”