Trucking industry revenues up nearly 14% in 2018

The trucking industry saw strong growth in 2018, with revenues reaching $796.7 billion, up from $700.1 billion in 2017, according to a 2019 trends report from the American Trucking Associations, released Wednesday.

The group's ATA American Trucking Trends 2019 report tracks industry growth and other issues, including demographics and trade. Other findings from the report, according to ATA, include:

• In 2018, trucks moved 11.49 billion tons of freight, 71.4 percent of the nation's tonnage freight;
• Trucking's revenues accounted for 80.3 percent of the nation's freight bill;
• Trucks moved 67.4 percent of surface freight between the U.S. and Canada—up 3.6 percent in 2018—and 83.5 percent of cross-border trade with Mexico, up 10.2 percent from the previous year;
• There are 7.8 million people employed in trucking-related jobs, up 100,000 from the previous year. This includes 3.5 million professional drivers;
• Women make up 6.6 percent of the industry's drivers and minorities account for 40.4 percent of truckers;
• Most carriers are small companies—91.3 percent of fleets operate six or fewer trucks and 97.4 percent operate 20 or fewer.