Census: Trucking Represents Important Segment of a $312 Billion Industry

On Tuesday, December 4th, the United States Census Bureau released new figures that help paint a portrait of the U.S. trucking, warehousing, and courier/messenger scene, which represents a large portion of our nation's revenue and billions of miles of travel.

These numbers derive from the Census Bureau's Service Annual Survey, which encompasses economic data and estimates on our nation's GDP, or gross domestic product. The study reported here in this article specifically relates to the truck-transportation; storage and warehouse services (not those which sell goods, only those which store them); and courier/messenger services, which deliver parcels and goods inside and between cities. This data, it must be noted, refers only to transportation companies; therefore, any carriers who operate privately or as part of a non-transportation company are not included in this information.

The Census Bureau reports that in 2006, U.S. trucking, messenger and courier services, and warehousing and storage of goods comprised a $312 billion industry, which is an increase from $293 billion in 2005. Furthermore, commercial trucks (such as tractor-trailers, tankers, and "semis") which originate from the United States have traveled some 91 billion miles in 2006. To put that in perspective, that is the same as taking more than 15 million trips from New York City to Los Angeles and back.

In total, trucking brought in $220 billion of revenue in 2006, 96 percent of this coming from trucking that occurred inside the United States. The remaining 4%, or $8 billion, derives from destinations outside the United States, such as Canada and Mexico. Freight trucking, which refers to vans and container trucks conveying goods placed on pallets, contributed about 66% of all trucking revenue, or $147 billion. Trucks which hauled goods requiring flatbeds, refrigeration, or tanks brought in $73 billion.