ATA’s annual trucking trends report shows impact of pandemic on industry

Trucking remained dominant mode of freight in challenging year

The trucking industry moved 10.23 billion tons of freight in 2020, generating $732.3 billion in revenue, according to the latest edition of American Trucking Associations’ American Trucking Trends 2021.

“We knew that the pandemic had a significant impact on our industry, but this year’s Trends shows that despite those challenges, the trucking industry remained our nation’s lifeline – delivering the life-saving and life-sustaining essentials our country needed in a time of great need,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Trends is an indispensable resource for anyone  looking to understand the trucking industry.”

Among the findings in trends:

• In 2020, trucks moved 10.23 billion tons of freight – down from 11.84 billion tons the previous year.
  
• The industry collected 80.4% of the nation’s freight bill, unchanged from the previous year, while generating $732.3 billion.
  
• Trucking employed 7.65 million people in industry-related jobs, including 3.36 million professional truck drivers.
  
• Women made up 7.8% of the nation’s drivers – an all-time high – and minorities account for 42.3% of truck drivers.
  
• Trucking remains a small business industry: 91.5% of fleets operate six or fewer trucks, and 97.4% operate less than 20.
  
• Trucks moved 70.9% of the value of surface trade between the U.S. and Canada and 83.8% of cross-border trade with Mexico, for a total of $695 billion worth of goods.
  

“Having good data is a prerequisite to making good decisions – and year in and year out, Trends provides the kind of up-to-date, accurate data about the industry that decision makers need,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear. “That data is why Trends is found on the desks of countless elected officials, regulators and industry executives across the country.”